Money laundering case: Ayyan allowed to add documents to bail plea

Court is set to hear the plea today

LAHORE: A Lahore High Court division bench on Monday allowed Model Ayyan to place on record more documents in her bail application in the money laundering case.

The bench headed by Justice Anwarul Haq will hear the application on Tuesday (today). It has sought responses from the federal government and the Customs authorities.

In the application, Ayyan’s counsel submitted that she had been imprisoned for four months. He said under the Customs Act women suspects in money laundering cases could be freed on bail after completion of investigation. He added that his client was a woman and investigation in the case had been completed so she should be released on bail.

Her counsel dismissed as fake the charges framed by customs officials against Ayyan.

He said when the model was caught from the airport she had neither received a boarding pass nor got her passport stamped at the exit control counter by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) officials.

Therefore, he said, she could not be categorised as a traveler at the time of her arrest. He said in such a situation the money laundering charge was not justified.

Ayyan had been arrested by the Customs officials from Benazir Bhutto International Airport, Islamabad, on March 14 after US $506,800 was recovered from her luggage. She was taken to the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi where she is held.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 14^th, 2015.