KARACHI: A Supreme Court (SC) constituted joint investigation team (JIT) tasked with the ongoing money laundering case summoned details of the Sindh government’s annual developmental projects on Sunday.
According to a local media outlet, the details that have been sought date from 2013 to 2018, including the project charter, allocated budget, cash outflow, revise schemes and expenses.
“JIT has requested the Sindh chief secretary to submit the details by November 12. After the request from JIT, the Sindh chief secretary directed the departments of planning, finance, power, irrigation, works, health, education, agriculture among others to submit the relevant details by Monday,” it was stated.
It is pertinent to mention here that the JIT had earlier sought records of bank accounts owned by the provincial government over the past ten years.
According to a letter seeking the details, the JIT solicited a record of all transactions made by the provincial government over the past decade. “The Sindh government should share the records of all accounts in all banks,” the letter read.
Furthermore, details of contracts awarded in the water and communication and works departments in the last 10 years have also been sought. “Details should be shared regarding how much money was invested in and how many contracts were awarded pertaining to these two departments in the last 10 years,” the letter stated.
These details are to include the list of contractors, including their names, addresses and NIC numbers. The letter also mentions the suo motu notice taken by the Supreme Court (SC) regarding the case.
THE CASE:
Former president Asif Ali Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur along with 32 others are being investigated by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) as part of a corruption case relating to fake accounts and fictitious bank transactions worth Rs41.4 billion.
The siblings face allegations that they had illegally channelled funds through fake accounts in connivance with the CEOs of major banks.
The case had initially been registered in 2015 against former Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSE) chairman Hussain Lawai, who is widely believed to be close to Zardari.
Later, seven individuals, including Zardari and Talpur, were said to have been found involved in using those accounts for suspicious transactions which totalled Rs35 billion. The accounts were allegedly used to channel funds received through kickbacks.
The FIA arrested Zardari’s close aide Hussain Lawai in July. Another close aide of Zardari, Omni Group chairman Anwar Majeed and his son Abdul Ghani Majeed were also arrested in August. All three remain under custody.
Earlier this month, FIA sources informed that the mastermind of the money laundering and fake accounts case, Aslam Masood, had been arrested by the Interpol from Jeddah.
