LONDON: Scotland Yard has said that a decision would be made by the end of April whether or not to bring criminal charges in relation to the money-laundering case relating to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM).
The disclosure was made by the police during a hearing which took place here at the West London Magistrates Court in relation to nearly half a million pounds seized from the MQM office in 2012 and from Altaf Hussain’s house in May 2014. Around half a million pounds was seized during these raids and the police say that the money has been held under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.
The hearing took place before a magistrate and it was attended by Sarfraz Merchant, his lawyers Barrister Zarif Khan and Jonathan Wright, solicitor; police officer in charge of the case involved in the MQM investigations and the police lawyer and the lawyer representing Altaf Hussain, Tariq Mir, Sarfraz Ahmad and Iftikhar Hussain Quraishi.
Sarfraz Merchant appeared in person but Altaf Hussain and his colleagues did not as they were represented by a lawyer.
Sarfraz Merchant refused to make a comment but speaking to this correspondent outside the court, Barrister Zarif Khan said his client wanted to be discharged from this case as soon as possible because even the MQM had accepted that the amount seized from his house - around £25,000 - was nothing in comparison to the nearly half a million pounds amount seized from the properties linked with the MQM leader.
Zarif Khan said: “My client, Sarfraz Merchant, has been on the police bail since 2013. That bail has been discharged following Judicial Review proceedings at the High Court in London and as a result the bails were cancelled. The amount seized from Mr Merchant’s house is not as large as the amount seized from the other individuals involved in the case and it’s the case that this needed to be ended sooner than later.
“My client has not committed any crime and he told the judge today that he has proofs that all his incomes are legitimate and clean. It’s our case that either brings the charges so that we produce the evidence and get our client cleared or end the case as well as returning his money to him.”
The judge fixed a timetable for the hearing in relation to the seized cash. The hearing will take place for three days in September during which all the evidence will be made public. The judge asked the police to serve the evidence by middle of May which the police agreed to.
“It’s the aim of the police to end the case by the end of April but whether they can do so or not, we don’t know,” said Zarif Khan, who was accompanied by Sarfraz Merchant and Jonathan Wright his solicitor outside the court.
The police told the magistrate that the investigation was continuing and the police are aimed to conclude the probe as soon as possible. The police told the judge that the investigation was complex and involved a large volume of paper work which needed to be examined.
The MQM lawyer told the judge that he did not have evidence at this stage to defend his clients but first needed to see what evidence the police had.
The lawyer said that the MQM wished to see the evidence first and foremost from the prosecution and then the response would be submitted appropriately. The MQM lawyer accepted that the largest amount seized belonged to Altaf Hussain. In a statement, the MQM said that the amount being kept by the police was party funds. “Altaf Hussain and MQM stress that the party funds are legal and clean.”
MQM senior leader Nadeem Nusrat said that the investigation was at an early stage but the MQM was confident that it would prove its innocence when the matter went to the court.