IHC rules hiding assets not money laundering

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) Friday dismissed a case filed under the Money-Laundering Act for non-declaration and concealment of assets as illegal.

IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah, in a five-page judgment, declared the Money-Laundering Act would not apply if there was no evidence to prove the assets were made with the money gained through criminal means. The court ruled the FBR could not prove money-laundering in the case against a Rawalpindi businessman, Altaf Ahmad Gondal.

An FIR was registered against the businessman alleging he concealed his assets. “Making a criminal case of money-laundering against the petitioner is illegal,” the court ruled. It was a money concealment case not money-laundering which can be processed under a different law.