Five out of 23 accused in the money laundering through fake accounts case have fled the country, media reports said Monday.
According to the details, the revelation was made in the report of the Supreme Court-mandated Joint Investigation Team (JIT) probing the matter of laundering of several billion rupees through fictitious bank accounts in the country.
The accused, namely Nasir Abdullah Lotha, Aslam Masood, Mohammad Arif Khan, Mohammad Umair and Azam Wazir Khan, have fled the country.
All the five accused were said to have been playing key role in the opening of fictitious bank accounts.
Media reports claimed that the accused fled the country soon after the registration of a case against them by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). Efforts are being made for bring the accused to Pakistan, they added.
Earlier on Monday, a startling revelation was made regarding the fake bank accounts opened in the name of a dead man being operated in Karachi with transactions in billions.
Prior to this, similar bank accounts registered in the name of an ice cream vendor and rickshaw driver have also come to light in Karachi.
Similar fake accounts were also opened in the name of some residents Hyderabad, Sialkot, Jhang and other cities in the country.
MONEY LAUNDERING CASE:
The FIA is investigating over 30 people in relation to money laundering from fictitious accounts, including Pakistan People’s Party Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur. In July, Zardari’s close aide Hussain Lawai was arrested in connection with the probe.
The former president’s another close aide and Omni Group chairman, Anwar Majeed, and his son, Abdul Ghani Majeed, were also arrested by the FIA. Lawai, Majeed and his son remain under custody for interrogation.
Investigations so far have revealed that several ‘benami’ accounts at some private banks were opened in 2013, 2014 and 2015 from where transactions worth billions of rupees were made.
The amount, according to the FIA, is said to be black money gathered from various kickbacks, commissions and bribes.
