NAB issued notice on petitions against money laundering case transfer

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Tuesday issued a notice to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to submit comments on petitions filed by former president Asif Ali Zardari, his sister Faryal Talpur and others challenging the banking court’s verdict that transferred the money laundering case against them to Islamabad, ARY News reported.

A division bench of the high court scheduled the next hearing for March 26 when the NAB Karachi director general and prosecutor are required to file their comments.

Meanwhile, the bench rejected a request by Zardari’s lawyer, Farooq H Naek to summon the relevant record of the case.

The counsel contended before the court that the Supreme Court had issued no directions with regard to the case transfer to Islamabad. “This case doesn’t fall within the ambit of NAB.”

The banking court had been hearing the case until March 15 when it transferred the matter to Islamabad on a request by the bureau, he stated, adding that this was not a case of corruption which should have been transferred to a NAB court.

Zardari and his sister on March 16 filed the petitions assailing the banking court’s verdict. They termed it as unlawful and unconstitutional and pleaded to the high court to declare the decision as void.

Apart from the PPP leaders’ petitions, Omni Group owner Anwar Majeed and his son Ghani Majeed have also filed the petitions in the SHC challenging the verdict.

The banking court had last week transferred the case against the former president and others to Rawalpindi on a request by NAB.

The court also cancelled interim bail of the 19 suspects in the case. Following the ruling, NAB issued notices to Zardari and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, directing them to appear before its Rawalpindi office on March 20. The court directed the authorities to return surety amount to the suspects.

Money laundering case

Asif Ali Zardari, his sister Faryal Talpur and other accused are facing an inquiry into the money laundering scam involving over Rs35 billion money laundered through fake bank accounts.

Zardari’s close aides Hussain Lawai and Anwar Majeed are also being investigated in the scandal. They both are in custody.

A Joint Investigation Team (JIT) formed to probe into the mega money laundering scam submitted its report in the Supreme Court. The report revealed that 29 fake bank accounts had been identified, which were used for money laundering.