Money laundering case: Ayyan’s remand extended, again

Customs told to submit complete charge sheet on June 15

RAWALPINDI: A customs court in Rawalpindi on Monday extended model Ayyan Ali’s remand in a money laundering case for the 12th time after the prosecution refused to argue on her bail application owing to lawyers’ strike over the Daska incident.

The customs investigation team informed the court that a complete charge-sheet had been filed.

Ayyan’s counsel Sardar Ishaq objected to the charge-sheet saying two absconding suspects in the case, identified as Owais and Mumtaz, were not nominated in the charge-sheet. He said failure to submit a complete charge-sheet has been causing repeated delays in the case.

Custom’s prosecutor Amin Feroz, however, said the two suspects were at large and their names would be included once they are arrested and their statements recorded.

He added that investigation pertaining to Ayyan’s case had been completed and a charge-sheet, in which Ayyan has been declared the main suspect, submitted.

The court then directed the customs team to complete the charge-sheet by including names of the two other suspects and submit it on next hearing scheduled for June 15.

A customs official told The Express Tribune that efforts were under way to arrest the two suspects. He said that submitting a charge-sheet against missing suspects was not possible.

He said that the woman who bought a house for Ayyan would also be investigated.

During investigations, it was found that the model also got Rs22 million in the form of 11 bank drafts which were delivered to her by a woman, who is living in Mirpurkhas, Sindh, officials said.

Separately, former Punjab governor Sardar Latif Khosa appeared before the court in Ayyan’s bail application but due to the lawyers’ strike, the court fixed the application for hearing today (Tuesday).

Ayyan’s legal team is expecting to get her out on bail on Tuesday.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 2^nd, 2015.