Money laundering case: FIA gets mastermind’s 7-day transitory remand

ISLAMABAD: Senior Civil Judge Amir Aziz Saturday approved seven-day transitory remand of the alleged mastermind in money laundering and fake bank account case.

The judge directed the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to present the accused, Aslam Masood, before the banking court on February 16.

The banking court is hearing the fake bank accounts case involving former president Asif Ali Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur.

Aslam Masood, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Omni Group, was arrested when he was boarding a flight from London to Jeddah in October.

He was subsequently extradited to Pakistan from Saudi Arabia.

An FIA team wanted to go to Saudi Arabia to arrest Masood but was denied visas.

He was deported by Saudi Arabia Friday afternoon and taken into custody by the FIA at the Islamabad International Airport. He was shifted to the Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology (RIC) due to chest pain.

Masood also worked as accountant to former president and PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari. He will be presented before the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) which is probing the fake bank accounts case.

Earlier in August, the Supreme Court (SC) had issued his non-bailable arrest warrants, declaring him an absconder.

Zardari, his sister Faryal Talpur, their close aide Anwar Majeed and others are facing a probe for laundering Rs35 billion through fake bank accounts.

Sources say Masood looked after all the financial matters of Anwar Majeed’s company Kam Crown and was believed to be privy to important information about the mega money-laundering case. He is, therefore, believed to be the ‘mastermind’ of money laundering carried out through the fake bank accounts.