Money laundering case: Ayyan’s remand extended till May 8

Court censures customs officials for failing to produce complete charge-sheet

RAWALPINDI: A Rawalpindi court on Tuesday extended model Ayyan Ali’s judicial remand till May 8 in the money laundering case.

The banking court censured the Pakistan Customs’ investigation team for not producing complete the charge-sheet against the suspect.

Investigators produced the challan but Ayyan’s lawyer objected that the presented charge-sheet was incomplete as a complete map of the crime scene was not provided.

The court returned the charge-sheet ordering the official to produce the complete challan at the next hearing on May 8 and also extended the remand till then.

The Customs official said the delay was because they were still waiting for some record related to the case from Dubai.

At the last hearing on April 24, Sardar Ishaq, Ayyan’s counsel, requested the court to either order the investigation team to produce, at least an interim challan, or grant bail to his client.

Banking court Judge Sabir Sultan heard the case on Tuesday as Customs and Texation Judge Aftab Sultan has not yet taken charge.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Ayyan’s lawyer said the case was deliberately being prolonged. “First, the investigation team was not producing the challan and now after I filed a bail application, they have presented an incomplete challan,” he said.

He added that with the bail application he had presented four cases to the Lahore High Court where suspects have been granted bails. “In the first two cases in which women had committed murders, they were granted bail on grounds that they were women. “While in the last two, the suspects were taking money abroad and when arrested were granted bail. If a woman in a murder case can be granted bail, why not my client, whose crime is not that serious,” he argued.

Custom officials arrested Ayyan from Islamabad airport on March 14 for allegedly being involved in money laundering. The model was caught with $500,000 which she was allegedly smuggling to Dubai. As a result, she was sent on a 14-day judicial remand to Adiala Jail.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 29^th, 2015.