F.P. Report
ISLAMABAD: An accountability court, hearing the fake accounts case on Thursday, remanded three accused into the custody of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for seven days.
Judge Mohammad Bashir of the accountability court conducted hearing of the fake accounts case. The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had requested the court to grant further physical remand of the accused, Aftab Memon, Abdul Jabbar and Mohammad Shabbir.
During the hearing, the counsel of the accused said the NAB wanted to force the accused to state that they transferred the land on the directives of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ai Zardari.
He said the anti-corruption watchdog had been requesting for further remand only to pressurise the accused, adding that any individual could be made to state anything by pressuring him during remand.
The court later announced the verdict on NAB’s plea and granted seven-day remand of the accused. It also directed the NAB to expedite investigation process.
The case
The FIA is investigating more than 30 people in relation to money laundering from fictitious accounts, including Asif Ali Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur. Zardari’s close aide Hussain Lawai was arrested in July 2018 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.
Several ‘benami’ accounts at multiple 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.
