NAB arrests Asif Zardari in fake bank accounts case

ISLAMABAD: National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has arrested Asif Ali Zardari as Islamabad High Court (IHC) rejected bail pleas of the former president and his sister Faryal Talpur in a mega money laundering case, ARY News reported on Monday.

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A two member-bench of the Islamabad High Court comprising Justice Aamir Farooq and Justice Mohsin Kiyani pronounced the verdict on the bail plea filed by the PPP leaders.

The NAB pleaded the court to allow them to arrest the brother-sister duo for the probe in to the mega money laundering reference.

PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and Faryal Talpur were not in attendance in the court room at the time of announcement of the verdict.

Following the orders of the IHC, a team of NAB reached Zardari house to only arrest the PPP co-chairman as the arrest warrant of Faryal Talpur was not issued by the bureau.

It may be noted that both the PPP leaders’ interim bail was extended for five times in the reference.

The case

The Federal Investigation Agency is investigating 32 people in relation to money laundering from fictitious accounts, including Zardari and Talpur.

Zardari’s close aide Hussain Lawai was arrested in July last year in connection with the probe. While his other confidant and Omni Group chairman Anwar Majeed and his son, Abdul Ghani, were arrested by FIA in August 2018.

Over 20 ‘benami’ accounts at some 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.