Court issues arrest warrants for PPP chief Zardari

ISLAMABAD: A Karachi court on Friday issued arrest warrants of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chief and former President Asif Ali Zardari for not appearing before it in the mega money laundering case.

However, Zardari’s lawyer Farooq H Naek said no arrest warrants were issued. A banking court issued the warrants for Zardari.

During hearing, the Federal Investigation Agency sought arrest warrants of PPP leader and 15 other co-accused in the case.

Anwar Majeed, a close aide of former president, was also produced in the court where the FIA sought his physical remand, which the court granted till August 24.

The authorities on Wednesday arrested Majeed, owner Omni Group, and his son from outside the Supreme Court.

Majeed had appeared before the apex court in connection with fake bank accounts that were used for alleged money laundering along with his four sons.

In the meantime, the FIA investigators say they are likely to detect 150-plus fake accounts and Rs200 billion laundered through them in the ongoing money laundering case.

A team member of inquiry committee said that the FIA investigators were conident about detection of many more accounts. “Within days, the FIA will submit in the court another progress report with the details of more accounts and laundered money.”

On August 13, during the hearing of a suo motu case pertaining to money laundering case of Rs35 billion through fake accounts,f ia director general bash ir Memon told the Supreme Court that the FIA had discovered 15 more accounts with transactions worth Rs6 billion.

The report said that an account for Dream Trading & Co of one Muhammad Rasheed had been opened by Mukhtar Ahmed, who is involved in opening other accounts at the United Bank Limited and Sindh Bank by adopting the same procedure of changing signatures and an amount of Rs2.39 billion was transferred from February 2012 to September 2013.

The progress report stated that another account titled Ocean Enterprises of one Abdul Qadir was opened by Ahmed, wherein a sum of Rs2 billion was transferred from February 2012 to September 2013. The third account titled Star Broker Badin of one Ejaz Ahmed was detected wherein Rs1.06 billion was transferred from July 2014 to February 2015.