Police on Wednesday shifted Omni Group chairman Anwar Majeed from National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) to prison, a local news outlet reported.
Majeed, a close aide of former president Asif Ali Zardari, and his son were arrested on August 15 in connection with a case pertaining to money laundering through fake bank accounts.
On September 24, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar had ordered that Majeed, his son Abdul Ghani Majeed and former Pakistan Stock Exchange chairman Hussain Lawai be shifted to jail from the hospital based on their medical reports.
The apex court was hearing Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) petition regarding medical treatment being given to Majeed, his son, and Lawai. The court had formed a committee under the surgeon general of Pakistan for the medical examination of the accused.
Reportedly, Majeed was whisked to Landhi prison under stringent security late Wednesday, after the presentation of a medical report by the surgeon general.
He was under treatment at NICVD for several weeks, they said, during which he underwent several tests.
Reportedly, NICVD’s Professor Pervez Chaudhry had suggested bypass surgery to Majeed, however, he was moved to prison after the surgeon general’s report.
On the other hand, Majeed’s son Abdul Ghani was brought to Jinnah Hospital on Wednesday for a medical check-up. Ghani remained at the hospital for more than three hours.
He was later moved back to the Landhi prison.
THE CASE:
FIA is investigating 32 people in relation to money laundering from fictitious accounts, including Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur. Zardari’s close aide Hussain Lawai was arrested in July in connection with the probe.
Over 20 ‘benami’ accounts at some private banks were opened in 2013, 2014 and 2015 from where transactions worth billions of rupees were made, according to sources. The amount, according to FIA sources, is said to be black money gathered from various kickbacks, commissions and bribes.
Previously the amount laundered from these fictitious accounts was said to be Rs32 billion, however, FIA officials said late last month they found at least 15 more suspicious bank accounts, four of which have been confirmed as fake. A total of Rs6 billion were laundered via these four fake or ‘benami’ accounts.
After the disclosure, the total amount of money laundered via fake bank accounts climbed to Rs41 billion.
