Pakistan: FIA summons former president Asif Ali Zardari in money laundering case

Former president of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur have been summoned by Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Monday in a Rs 35 billion money laundering and fake bank accounts case. Earlier, the Supreme Court in July had listed Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur as beneficiaries in an alleged scam which led to the arrest of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairman’s close aide and famous banker Hussain Lawai.

The FIA has summoned Zardari and his sister for the fourth time to appear at the agency’s headquarters in Islamabad on Monday. The duo failed to appear before the FIA’s joint investigation team probing a multi-billion money laundering scam, despite earlier summons, reports The Dawn.

The Supreme Court had asked the FIA to submit a comprehensive report in connection with the fake accounts case on Tuesday, reports the daily. Citing lack of confidence over the investigation team probing the case, Zardari and Talpur had not joined the probe. A local banking court in Karachi had issued non-bailable arrest warrants for the former president and other absconding suspects in the ongoing probe on August 17, in which it ordered the suspects to be arrested and presented before it by September 4.

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Hearing the petition, the Islamabad High Court approved the former president’s petition for protective bail in the case on August 18. Investigating the money laundering case, FIA is looking for 32 people in relation to money laundering from fictitious 29 accounts. The names include Zardari and his sister Talpur. Zardari close-aide Lawai was arrested last month and is accused to have helped facilitate the opening of fake accounts in Summit Bank, Sindh Bank and United Bank Limited.

The FIA had also detected 15 more suspicious accounts, opened in the name of persons other than those in whose names the 29 accounts were opened, said an official to the daily. The officer added that up to Rs 1 billion, Rs 2 billion and Rs 3 billion had been transferred from these newly discovered accounts.

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