Zardari’s domestic worker accused of accumulating Rs8.1bn through fake account

ISLAMABAD: In the series of events in the fake accounts case, the latest revelation involves a domestic worker of former Pakistan president Asif Ali Zardari, with an estimated fortune of around Rs8.1 billion allegedly stashed into one of his fake accounts.

Mushtaq Ahmed, 37, who once served as one of personal staff members of the former president, allegedly accumulated the wealth with Zain Malik through a joint fake account maintained in a private bank in Karachi during 2014-15. Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) officials began investigating the matter after the fake accounts saga surfaced.

Musthaq, who is currently in London, is now at the center of the JIT investigation, officials familiar with the probe revealed.

“The Bank record of account no. 1-2-15-20311-714-181041 Zain Malik/Mushtaq Ahmed at a private bank's Dolmen Mall, Karachi branch showed that joint account was operated between February 2014 to June 2015. Mustaq Ahmed allegedly withdrew all money in 157 transactions and inter-bank transfers. Inter-bank transfers were made to Omni Group owned by Abdul Ghani Majeed. The nexus of many big guns is sealed by this joint account,” revealed one of the investigators to Geo News.

Investigators, who spoke to Geo News, believe that Mushtaq Ahmed, who has been serving Zardari for one-and-a-half decade, fled the country on April 3, 2015 via EK-605 from Jinnah International Airport Karachi to Dubai, as he came on radar of the authorities for possessing huge assets.

Mushtaq never filed his annual returns with the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), investigation revealed. The immigration record of both Zardari and Mushtaq suggested that both of them went on around 88 trips abroad together, in the past ten years.

Last time, Zardari and Musthaq travelled together on Feb 25, 2015 to United Arab Emirates, the investigation revealed further.

According to NADRA record and immigration staff, both Zardari and Mushtaq shared the same present address of Zardari House, Islamabad at their CNICs.

Mushtaq Ahmed, who belonged to a poor family of Hazaro Mahar in Mehboob Goth of Shikarpur district, has been serving the former president since his days in prison. He also has one account in a private bank's Civic Center, Islamabad branch with a balance of around Rs2 million.

Allah Wasaya Mahar, cousin of Mushtaq Ahmed, told Geo News that Mushtaq is a poor man and has not even home here in Shikarpur. He left the village years back and never came back, Allah Wasaya said, adding that five siblings of his father worked at the house of a local landlord in Shikarpur.

Earlier, Hamid Samoo a driver of Talpur family fled the country on March 17, 2017 via EY-234, from Islamabad International Airport as he came under scrutiny for possessing lavish overseas assets. Samoo has declared properties in Dubai worth around Rs650 million, in a revelation that swung the country’s anti-corruption watchdog into action.

Pakistan Peoples Party's top leadership, including Senator Farhatullah Babar, MNA Nafisa Shah, Sindh Cabinet Member Saeed Ghani and Zardari's counsel Farooq H. Naek, did not respond to Geo News' queries pertaining to this important issue. Despite repeated attempts made by this correspondent they did not comment on the development.

Mustafa Nawaz Kokhar, who is a spokesman of PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, said the party's legal team headed by Farooq H Naek is pleading the fake accounts case.

"The matter is under investigation and party has also been facing cases in the past and it will continue to face them now as well," Khokhar said.

"We have been emerging triumphant from the courts."