Fake accounts case: Zardari, Talpur's bail extended till May 15

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday extended interim bail of former president Asif Ali Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur until May 15 in the money laundering case.

A two-judge bench comprising Justice Aamir Farooq and Mohsin Akhtar Kiyani heard the petitions of the PPP leaders whose pre-arrest bail was to expire today.

To a question, a NAB prosecutor informed the court that the bureau’s chairman had issued arrest warrants for Zardari only in the Park Lane case.

The bench directed NAB to submit a written reply, explaining how many inquiries has the bureau been carrying out against the former president.

In the previous hearing, the high court had extended the siblings’ bail until April 29 when they appeared before it for their bail extension.

Zardari, his sister and other accused are facing charges of laundering more than Rs35 billion through fake bank accounts. Zardari’s close aides Hussain Lawai and Anwar Majeed have also been nominated in the scam. They both are in judicial custody.

Last month, a banking court in Karachi transferred the money laundering case against the former president, his sister and others to Rawalpindi on a request by NAB.

The court also cancelled the interim bail of the 19 suspects, including the PPP leaders in the case. The court directed the authorities to return surety amount to the suspects.

Earlier, on March 28, an Islamabad High Court (IHC) bench, comprising Justice Aamir Farooq and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, had approved pre-arrest bail for the PPP co-chairman and his sister against a surety of Rs1 million each.