Money laundering case: IHC extends Zardari, Talpur pre-arrest bail till April 29

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court on Wednesday extended the interim pre-arrest bail of former president Asif Ali Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur till April 29 in the mega money laundering and fake bank accounts case.

An IHC division bench on March 28 had approved the bail petitions of the former president and his sister, granting them pre-arrest bail which expired today, before it was extended till April 29.

The bench had also ordered Zardari to submit bail bonds worth Rs1 million each on four of his petitions and accepted his request to submit a total of Rs4 million in the form of cash. Talpur had been directed to submit bail bonds worth Rs1 million.

Zardari and Talpur had approached the IHC seeking pre-arrest bail to avoid arrest in the fake bank accounts and money laundering case.

Earlier this month, a banking court in Karachi had ordered the transfer of the fake bank accounts and mega money laundering case to Islamabad.

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.