Prosecution unprepared: Ayyan’s judicial remand extended till May 28

Banking court judge asks prosecution to prepare arguments.

RAWALPINDI: A banking court on Monday extended the judicial remand of model Ayyan Ali till May 28 after the prosecution refused to argue over her bail application.

The court had to hear two applications: one filed by Ayyan’s counsel requesting bail for her and the other by the customs’ investigation team to register a money laundering case against the model.

Ali’s lawyer Khurram Latif Khosa requested the court to allow him to argue over her bail application. The prosecution, however, opposed the defence lawyer, saying they were not ‘prepared’.

Judge Sabir Sultan ordered the prosecution to prepare their arguments and adjourned the case for May 28.

Ali’s father, Raja Hafeez, had made a request to see his daughter which she declined on numerous occasions.

Strict security measures were in place when Ayyan was taken to court.

An official of the investigation team, when asked about the delay in submission of charge-sheet against the suspect, told The Express Tribune that several summons have been sent to businessman Najeeb Haroon, property dealer Mumtaz Hussain and Ali’s mother Farhat Sultana but they are yet to record their statements.

Besides, regarding the registration of a money laundering case, the official said the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) did not find any source and tax paid on the money confiscated.

“FBR has written to various airlines to provide the data of her foreign tours and names and account numbers of persons who paid on her behalf,” he said.

Besides, the name of the real estate firm provided by Ali’s legal team to the investigators that bought her property could not be confirmed.

Khosa had told The Express Tribune that the money did not belong to Ayyan. “She was waiting at the departure lounge to hand over the money to someone else,” was his statement which was later changed.

Last month, the investigators probing money laundering charges against the model submitted an interim charge-sheet in court. The team traced two new suspects who have links to the suspected money launderer. They include a woman who bought a house worth Rs15 million for the model. He said the woman has Rs300 million in her account in Karachi.

Ayyan was arrested by customs officials on March 14 from the Benazir Bhutto International Airport after over $500,000 was found in her baggage.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 26^th, 2015.