LONDON: Scotland Yard’s National Terrorist Financial Investigation Unit (NTFIU) has returned the full cash taken away from Sarfaraz Merchant’s flat when MQM-London leader Altaf Hussain and his associated were arrested as part of the money-laundering investigation over three years ago.
Sarfaraz Merchant visited the NTFIU headquarters through an appointment where he was returned his money by the police detectives who investigated MQM’s money-laundering case – which has now been closed by the police citing ‘lack of evidence’.
Sarfaraz Merchant and Tariq Mir were arrested in December 2013 few weeks after the MQM-London leader Altaf Hussain’s arrest at his Mill Hill home.
Speaking to Geo News outside the NTFIU, Sarfaraz Merchant shared that when the police dropped the investigation around six months ago, around £24,000 were returned in his bank account but the police held back the cash in Dhirams and Pakistani Rupees.
“Today I have received £10k UAE dhirams, 31 thousand Pakistani Rupees from the National Terrorist Financial Investigation Unit. Cash was seized from my home in Counter Terrorism Command Unit raid. Now the police has confirmed to me that each and every penny of mine was legitimate and clean. Its because of this fact that the police has returned money to me. Nothing illegal has been found against me in the whole investigation and that has been my stance always that I have never done anything illegal or wrong,” Sarfaraz Merchant said.
He said that he was considering taking legal action to claim legal costs against the police for keeping him under investigation for over three years and costing him nearly a million Pounds.
“I have gone through lots of stress and trauma all these years. I have suffered. I had to stay in London because of this case and it cost me a lot of money in legal fees, accommodation and travel. I am speaking to my lawyers on this and I have been advised that I have the right to claim back my legal fees. I will announce my strategy in few days.”
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