Owing to mounting pressure by Inter-Services Intelligence’s (ISI), the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) high-ups are planning to shift the recently registered case against Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) founder Altaf Hussain to Islamabad since the Karachi bureau lacks forensic accountants and could easily be influenced, sources said.
FIA Karachi had registered a case against Altaf Hussain and his allies on charges of money laundering on September 21. Sources in the FIA privy to the development, said that newly-posted FIA Director General Bashir Memon is seriously considering transferring the said case to Islamabad bureau for various reasons.
‘After meeting with Inter-Services Intelligence political wing head in a safe house in Islamabad last Friday, FIA Islamabad is likely to take up this case. Although, the Karachi bureau also lacks investigation officers and experts in tracing money laundering,’ he said.
He further said that Assistant Director Muhammad Ali Abro, State Bank Circle, FIA Karachi Bureau had chalked out a picture of channels (directly or indirectly involved people, banks and ways used for laundering money) used for money laundering by the Khidmat-e-Khalaq Foundation and Altaf allies, sources said, adding that in the said meeting with ISI officials, Abro also shared all the information gathered from various credible sources.
‘ISI is also interested in shifting this case to Islamabad, as they are willing to help FIA at every step. They just want to put Altaf behind the bars by hook or by crook,’ he said.
Another official of FIA while requesting anonymity said that another good reason behind shifting the case might be that FIA Karachi Bureau may be influenced by MQM allies or by any other party.
It is noted that the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has registered a case against Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) London Chief Altaf Hussain and others on charges of money laundering, illegal transfer and misuse of funds received by the party’s charity wing, Khidmat-e-Khalq Foundation (KKF).
The clauses of the Anti-Terrorism Act were also included in the FIR. According to the FIR, available with Pakistan Today, sections 11 (H), 11 (I), 11 (J) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 and sections 121, 122, 123A, 447-A, 406, 468, 471, 477-A/109 of the Pakistan Penal Code read with sections 3 and 4 of Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2010 was registered on September 21 at the FIA’s State Bank circle by Sarfaraz Anwar Merchant, a businessman close to MQM’s top leadership in London.
In the FIR, the complainant affirmed that the MQM-L pioneers used to send cash to the originator of the MQM from KKF financial balances through the ‘(illegal) hawala’ channel.
The body of evidence was enrolled against Altaf Hussain as well as squeezed against others, including Senator Babar Ghauri, Karachi Deputy Mayor Arshad Vohra, Khawaja Sohail, Khawaja Rehan and Senator Ahmed Ali, for sending cash to the MQM organizer from the KKF’s financial balances.
The dissension asked the FIA to force a prohibition on MQM for being an “outside supported political party, associated with distortion of certainties and illegal tax avoidance [money laundering]”.
It is worthy to mention here that the FIA had sent a second application to Interpol asking for the issuance of a red warrant against Muttahida Qaumi Movement-London (MQM-L) boss Altaf Hussain to capture and annihilate him, in June this year. Be that as it may, Interpol had declined to issue a red warrant against the MQM originator in February, saying it didn’t mediate in the political and religious issues of a state.