The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has claimed to have tracked down Rs33 billion trail, making a major headway in its ongoing probe into a multi-billion money-laundering scam.
According to FIA sources, the agency has obtained details pertaining to Rs33 billion of the Rs35 billion allegedly laundered through fake bank accounts. The details relate to when and how the amount was laundered, which of the fictitious accounts were used to send the money abroad, and who the recipients were.
The FIA is investigating 32 people in relation to money laundering from fictitious accounts, including former president Asif Ali Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur. Zardari’s close aide Hussain Lawai was arrested in July this year in connection with the probe, whereas Omni Group chairman Anwar Majeed and his son, Abdul Ghani Majeed, were also taken into custody earlier this month.
A joint investigation team constituted by the FIA to probe the scam held a meeting in Islamabad on Monday, where the latest breakthroughs were discussed, sources said.
The sources shared that Anwar Majeed is being interrogated regarding the alleged transactions, and in most of his responses he has said “the chief financial officer would know”.
The agency, in its recent raids at the sugar mills owned by the Omni Group in Badin, confiscated computer hard-disks along with other records and weapons, the sources added. A total of 27 disks were recovered, including a virtual storage device which contains data on all the mills. Two digital video recorders were also seized during the raids.
The confiscated hard-disks are protected by passwords, and decoding them is taking time, the sources informed.
