Banking court orders transfer of money laundering case to Islamabad

KARACHI: A banking court on Friday ordered the transfer of the fake bank accounts and mega money laundering case to Islamabad.

The banking court in Karachi announced its decision on the National Accountability Bureau's (NAB) petition to transfer the money laundering case to Islamabad. During the last hearing on Monday, the court had reserved its decision.

Former chairman of the Pakistan Stock Exchange Hussain Lawai and Omni Group chairman Anwer Majeed's son Abdul Ghani Majeed, who have been booked and detained over their alleged involvement in the case, appeared before the court for the hearing. Meanwhile, Majeed's three other sons, Nimr Majeed, Zulqurnain Majeed and Ali Kamal Majeed, who are suspects in the case and were present in court fled after the hearing. 

The court also withdrew the bail granted to former president Asif Ali Zardari, his sister Faryal Talpur and other suspects in the case. The banking court further ordered that the bail bonds of all suspects be cancelled. 

Last month, NAB chairman had filed a petition seeking the transfer of the case to the accountability court of Rawalpindi for trial. In the documents, Justice (r) Javed Iqbal stated that the Supreme Court has directed the accountability bureau to probe the case thus it should be transferred to a NAB court in Rawalpindi.

The case

The FIA is investigating 32 people in relation to money laundering from fictitious accounts, including Zardari and Talpur. Zardari’s close aide Hussain Lawai was arrested in July last year in connection with the probe.

The former president’s other close aide and Omni Group chairman Anwar Majeed a close aide and Omni Group chairman and his son, Abdul Ghani, were arrested by FIA in August 2018.

Over 20 ‘benami’ accounts at some private banks were opened in 2013, 2014 and 2015 from where transactions worth billions of rupees were made, according to sources.

The amount, according to FIA sources, is said to be black money gathered from various kickbacks, commissions and bribes.