Accused turns approver in fake account case
islamabad — A third suspect offered to become an approver as Pakistan People’s Party leaders Asif Ali Zardari and Faryal Talpur appeared before an accountability court in Islamabad on Monday.
The former president, his sisterTalpur, Omni Group’s Anwar Majeed and his sons, and former Pakistan Stock Exchange chairperson Hussain Lawai are among those being investigated in a case related to money laundering of billions through fictitious bank accounts.
The matter was forwarded to an accountability court in Islamabad after a Karachi banking court accepted the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) transfer request – which came following the Supreme Court’s decision wherein the joint investigation team (JIT) report and evidence collected was referred to NAB for further investigations.
On Monday, the Zardari siblings appeared in Judge Muhammad Arshad Malik’s courtroom. NAB informed court that Sher Muhammad, an accused, had filed a request to become an approver. The prosecutor added that the bureau was processing his, Noreen Sultan and Kiran Aman’s applications to become approvers in the matter.
During the hearing, Judge Malik sought explanation over Lawai’s absence from the courtroom. NAB prosecutor said the bureau had written to Sindh chief secretary twice seeking Lawai’s appearance in court but received no reply. Malik directed NAB to bring up the matter with the Sindh government
as the accountability court contacts the Sindh High Court over it.
Meanwhile, the single-judge bench granted 10-day extension in pre-arrest bail to Zardari and Talpur against surety bonds worth Rs2 million. The hearing has been adjourned till May 9. Information regarding the fake accounts came
to the fore when an intelligence agency picked up a prominent money changer in an unrelated case. In December 2015, the Federal Investigation Agency began a discreet investigation into certain bank accounts through which multi-billion rupee transactions have been made.—