PTI President Elahi arrested in money laundering case

• FIA officials request 14-day physical remand of PTI leader. 
• Court rejects prosecution's request. 
• PTI president, son Moonis booked for alleged money laundering. 

LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) President Parvez Elahi has been sent to jail on judicial remand in a money laundering case after the Federal Investigation Authority (FIA) presented him before a local court.

The former Punjab chief minister was arrested by FIA officials after finally getting bail in a corruption case. 

On Tuesday, an anti-corruption court ordered the authorities to release Elahi, who had been incarcerated for almost three weeks in a case pertaining to illegal recruitments in the Punjab Assembly, on bail against a surety of Rs1 million.

However, a new case was registered against the PTI president and his son Moonis Elahi on charges of money laundering within hours of the release orders.

As Elahi deliberately avoided submitting the surety bond in hopes of a protective bail in the new case from a high court this morning, he remained at the Camp Jail and was eventually apprehended by the FIA officials from the detention centre.

The ex-Punjab chief minister was taken into custody by the FIA officials, who got his medical examination done from the Services General Hospital in Lahore.

They then presented Elahi before a judicial magistrate after officially arresting him following a medical examination which declared him medically fit.

During the hearing, the prosecution sought a 14-day physical remand of the PTI leader. However, the judicial magistrate rejected the request and sent Elahi to Camp Jail on judicial remand.

After this, the FIA officials took him to jail.

Elahi and his son Moonis Elahi reportedly invested funds worth billions of rupees in five Panama companies, sources had said while sharing details of the money laundering case. They further said that the duo bought Panama companies via “money laundering.”

In order to bring Moonis Elahi back home, the FIA has decided to get issued red warrants against him, the sources added.

Elahi's arrest saga

It may be noted that Elahi was initially arrested on June 1 from outside his residence in a Rs70 million graft case related to the embezzlement of development funds allocated for the Gujrat district.

After a district court in Lahore ordered his release on June 2, the PTI president was arrested again in a corruption case registered against him in Gujranwala by Punjab ACE.

He was then presented before a court in Gujranwala the next day, which later discharged him in the two corruption cases registered in the district's anti-corruption police station for allegedly taking kickbacks in the development funds allocated for the construction of roads in Gujrat.

However, he was re-arrested by anti-corruption personnel minutes later, in a case registered against him for the alleged illegal recruitment in the Punjab Assembly when he was the speaker.