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Saturday, March 16, 2024

Arrest warrants issued for Zardari in money laundering probe

News Desk |

A local white-collar criminal court on Friday, the 17th of August issued non-bailable (a section of the media is reporting them as bailable) arrest warrants for former president and PPP Chairman Asif Zardari and other absconding suspects in an ongoing investigation against a multi-billion money laundering scam involving benami accounts.

Warrants were issued for suspects absconding in the case including Pakistan Peoples Party co-chairman Zardari, Namar Majeed, Aslam Masood, Arif Khan, Naseer Abdullah Hussain, Adnan Javed, Mohammad Umair, Iqbal, Azam Wazir Khan, Zain Malik, and Mustafa Zulqarnain.

The FIA is probing a total of 32 people in relation to money laundering from fictitious accounts, including former president Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur.

Reportedly, the court has ordered the suspects to be arrested and presented before the Judge by September 4th.

Read more: Accountability boards are on fire this month: FIA summons Zardari and…

Asif Zardari’s lawyer, Farooq H. Naek, categorically denied the reports of his client’s arrest warrant. Senior PPP leader Farhatullah Babar also denied that an arrest warrant was issued for Zardari, dismissing the reports as baseless.

PPP’s media cell twitter handle also tweeted out an elaborate denial:

Islamabad: A section of the electronic media is reporting that the Court has issued warrants of arrest of former president @AAliZardari. Sen. Farooq Naek counsel for former President @AAliZardari has contradicted such reports & said that the Court had not issued any such orders.

Asif Zardari’s lawyer, Farooq H. Naek, categorically denied the reports of his client’s arrest warrant. Senior PPP leader Farhatullah Babar also denied that an arrest warrant was issued for Zardari, dismissing the reports as baseless.

The FIA is probing a total of 32 people in relation to money laundering from fictitious accounts, including former president Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur. PPP chairman’s close aide Hussain Lawai was arrested last month in connection with the probe.

Read more: Zardari, Faryal among others in money laundering probe: JIT

Also arrested in the probe were Asif Zardari’s close acquaintance Anwar Majeed and his son Abdul Ghani Majeed. They were arrested from an airport lounge and resisted arrest, throwing off their handcuffs on Thursday, 16th August. The father and son were presented before the court reportedly without handcuffs on Friday.

The banking court’ proceeding on 16th August Thursday also approved an extension in Faryal Talpur’s interim bail until the next hearing on September 4th. Interim bails for some others, including Shehzad Jatoi and Sher Muhammad Mugheri, were also extended until the next hearing.