FIA summons Zardari, Faryal in money laundering case today

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Investigative Agency (FIA) summoned Pakistan People’s Party Co-Chairperson Asif Ali Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur to record their statements in the money laundering case today (Saturday).

Both the leaders were summoned by the agency’s commercial banking circle, FIA authorities said. The FIA had previously declared former president Zardari, Talpur absconders in the money laundering case.

The inquiry started when the financial monitoring unit of the State Bank of Pakistan generated a ‘suspicious transaction report’ in January this year regarding ten bank accounts.

Sources maintained that over 20 ‘benami’ accounts at a private bank were opened in 2013, 2014 and 2015 from where transactions worth billions of rupees were made.

The amount according to FIA sources is said to be black money gathered from various kickbacks, commissions and bribes. But despite these huge transactions, the bank authorities never reported them to the authorities concerned including the FIA.