Indictment date for Zardari, Talpur not set in fake accounts case

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court on Tuesday extended the bail plea of former president Asif Ali Zardari to June 13 in the money laundering case.

Zardari maintained before Justice Aamir Farooq and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kiyani that the National Accountability Bureau has summoned him on May 23, and he suspects that it will arrest him hence the court should give him bail to stop them from making the arrest.

Indictment date not set

The accountability court hearing the fake accounts case against former president Asif Ali Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur failed to set a date for their indictment. The court did not set a date for indictment as the accused were not provided copies of the reference.

Accountability court judge Arshad Malik is hearing the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) reference against Zardari and Talpur. During the hearing, show cause notices were issued to chief secretary Sindh and superintendent jail over their failure to produce Abdul Ghani Majeed and Anwar Majeed.

The hearing of the case has been adjourned will May 30.

The case

The FIA is investigating 32 people in relation to money laundering from fictitious accounts, including Zardari and Talpur. Zardari’s close aide Hussain Lawai was arrested in July last year in connection with the probe.

The former president’s close aide and Omni Group chairman Anwar Majeed and his son, Abdul Ghani, were arrested by FIA in August 2018.

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.