Shahzad Akbar calls recovery of Rs2.1bn ‘a breakthrough’ in fake accounts case

ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to PM Shahzad Akbar said on Wednesday that the first major recovery of Rs2.1 billion is a major breakthrough in the fake accounts case.

The Special Assistant to PM on Accountability posted a tweet today, in which he said that the recovery took place due to the pleas bargain.

Akbar further said that the suspect confessed to his crime in relation to the issue of Omni group.

He said that the Joint Investigation Team and National Accountability Bureau deserve should be lauded for their role in the case.

The case

The authorities are investigating 32 people in relation to money laundering from fictitious accounts, including Zardari and Talpur. Zardari’s close aide Hussain Lawai was arrested earlier in connection with the probe.

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

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.