Khanani and Kalia: Directors to appear before court tomorrow

Khanani and Kalia's directors to appear in court after US-based company files petition to recover its money.

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court has ordered prison authorities to bring Javed Khanani, Hanif S Kalia and Munaf Kalia to court on December 23 to decide a constitutional petition filed by a US-based foreign exchange company that wants to recover its money stuck in the accounts of Khanani and Kalia (Pvt) International Limited.

The accounts of the company were seized by the Federal Investigation Agency following a spate of cases filed on charges of illegal banking, illegal transfer of foreign exchange from Pakistan and money-laundering.

The bench, comprising Chief Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmany and Justice Salman Hamid, earlier heard the counsels for the respective sides on the release of $1.7 million belonging to Continental Exchange Solutions, the US-based company. As the issue of a third-party claim or a claim by beneficiaries – senders who chose the petitioner company to transfer money to Pakistan – cropped up at intervals, the bench said that it seemed appropriate to summon the directors of Khanani and Kalia. All three directors have been behind bars since the cases were filed against them.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 22^nd, 2010.