The London Metropolitan Police has said that no new lines of inquiry have been identified against Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s (MQM) founder Altaf Hussain and his comrades from the material provided by Pakistani police seeking a fresh probe against them.
According to Metropolitan Police, National Terrorist Financial Unit (NTFI) assessed the material which the Pakistani authorities sent after the investigation was declared closed by the police here in October 2016 in relation to money laundering.
“In October 2016 the suspects in the case were advised that there would be no criminal prosecution following a police investigation and advice from the Crown Prosecution Service. All lines of inquiry have been exhausted, including international inquiries,” a Metropolitan police spokesman said.
“Since then, officers from the Met’s National Terrorist Financial Investigation Unit have been passed further material in relation to that money laundering investigation, which has all been assessed and no additional lines of inquiry identified,” he added.
After investigating the MQM leader and his associates for nearly three years, the police dropped the case after the Crown Prosecution Service advised the police that it didn’t have sufficient evidence to charge the suspects.
It’s understood that the police presented the file before the CPS on three occasions seeking charges but the CPS assessment found that prospects for bringing successful prosecution were minimum and the Met accepted that there was insufficient evidence to prove that the money seized was the proceeds of crime or was intended for use in unlawful conduct.
The case against the MQM founder started in 2012 when Scotland Yard officers raided the MQM offices and found cash hidden in cupboards.
