US State Department names Khanani Group as money laundering organisation

KARACHI: A report issued by the US State Department named Altaf Khanani Group as a Money Laundering Organisation (MLO) and alleged that the group was involved in laundering billions of dollars for organised criminals groups and terrorist establishments.

In a briefing in Washington, US Assistant Secretary of State for Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs William R. Brownfield discussed the State Department’s 32nd International Narcotics Control Strategy report that was presented to the Congress.

The report, made available to the media for the first time in nine years, states: “Pakistan-based Altaf Khanani MLO was nominated by the USA as an international organised criminal group. The organisation facilitated illegal transfers of money between countries including UAE, the UK, Canada, Australia, Pakistan, and the USA.” 

It further elaborates that the group was responsible for annually funnelling billions of dollars to terrorist establishments. The report alleged that the Khanani MLO facilitated, among others, Chinese, Colombian and Mexican terrorist groups and individuals.         

The report notes that Pakistan is a strategically located country on the coast of the Arabian Sea and the nexus of the south, central, and western Asia and its unsecured borders with Afghanistan, Iran, and China are avenues for the smuggling of narcotics and illegal items.

“Pakistan is involved in the monetary facilitation of crimes including tax evasion, fraud, corruption, trade in counterfeit goods, smuggling of illegal items, narcotics trafficking, human smuggling/trafficking, terrorism and terrorist financing,” the report states.

Earlier in January, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) formed a committee to probe the Khanani and Kalia money laundering case, upon directives by the interior minister Chaudhry Nisar.

The ministry said investigations into the Khanani and Kalia money laundering case were initiated in 2008 but were subsequently stalled due to unspecified reasons during the tenure of the former government. It said the entire record of the case was also disposed of.

Javed Khanani of the Khanani and Kalia group, died in December 2016, after he fell off from an under-construction building in Karachi’s Mohammad Ali Society. According to SP Gulshan-e-Iqbal Dr Fahad Ahmed Mukhtar, the under-construction building belonged to the deceased and it appeared to be a suicide case.

The money exchange group has been under scrutiny by the FIA since 2008 for money laundering and fraud allegations.