ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Interior has approved a grant of ten million rupees for the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to probe the case of money laundering through fake bank accounts.
Director-General FIA Bashir Ahmed Memon had on September 4 written to the interior ministry seeking funds for any expenses incurred by the investigation team probing the case.
Memon has also requested that the FIA wanted to hire the services of a legal and chartered accountant firm to help in the investigation. He had requested a grant of twenty million rupees from the interior ministry.
However, the interior ministry said that the Finance Division has approved a grant of ten million rupees for the federal agency, half of which was originally requested.
The FIA has been instructed to adhere to the code of conduct and relevant procedures in the utilisation of funds. The federal agency could be granted a supplementary grant in the form a crossed cheque.
JIT formed by SC
On September 6, the Supreme Court had constituted a six-member Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to investigate the case of money laundering worth Rs35 billion through fake bank accounts.
The JIT would be headed by Additional Director General (Economic Crime Wing) FIA Headquarters Ahsan Sadiq, and include Commissioner-IR (Corporate Zone) Regional Tax Office Imran Latif Minhas, Joint Director BID-I State Bank of Pakistan Majid Hussain, Director National Accountability Bureau Noman Aslam, Muhammad Afzal, Director (Specialized Companies Division) Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, and Brigadier Shahid Parvez of Inter-Services Intelligence.
The JIT has set up its secretariat in the new FIA office located Gulistan-e-Jauhar area of Karachi and held its first meeting last Thursday. The reportedly discussed the direction in which further probe has to be carried out against the accused in the case
Former president Asif Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur were among over a dozen suspects who are being probed in the case, along with Omni Group head Anwar Majeed and his son Abdul Ghani Majeed.
The FIA investigation on Thursday gave a detailed briefing to the JIT over progress in the case and the informed on the statements of Zardari and Talpur to the agency and that Anwar Majeed’s companies were allegedly used and the details of the bank accounts were also presented.
