Rs8.3bn suspicious transactions: Indictment of Zardari, others deferred due to stay order issued by IHC

ISLAMABAD: The Accountability Court, on Thursday, deferred indictment of former president Asif Ali Zardari and others in the Rs8.3 billion suspicious transactions in fake bank accounts case due to stay order issued by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) against framing of charges against Zardari.

Accountability Court-III judge, Syed Asghar Ali, while hearing the case, deferred indictment of Zardari and others in suspicious transaction case till November 18 after written order of the IHC regarding stay order against indictment of the accused persons in the case produced before it.

The accountability court had scheduled to indict Zardari and other accused in the said reference on Thursday. At the start of the hearing, Farooq H Naek, Zardari's counsel told the court that the IHC has issued stay order against the indictment of accused persons and also produced written orders of the IHC before the court.

At this, the court adjourned hearing of the case till November 18th. Talking to reporters outside the Accountability Court, Naek said that earlier, he filed on behalf of his client, an application before the Accountability Court under section 265-D, seeking acquittal of Zardari but the court turned it down.

He said Zardari had purchased house no F-33, block-04, Clifton, Karachi for a sum Rs150 million not as a holder of public office. Zardari purchased the said property as a private person and has no relation with the said account, he said, adding it is a private civil transaction between the seller and the purchaser.

Naek said he moved the IHC against rejection of his plea seeking acquittal in suspicious transactions in fake bank accounts case. The IHC stopped the accountability court from framing charges against Zardari and others.

According to the reference, Mushtaq Ahmed, a former stenographer of the presidency opened a joint account with a private housing society. The account had been used for depositing corruption and money laundering money, the reference said.

It said there was concrete evidence that Zardari had purchased House No F-32, Block 04, Clifton, Karachi, through corruption money. It says that the stenographer, Ahmed had made payment for Zardari's Clifton house.

An amount of Rs150 million was paid to one, Ahmad Abdul Bari against House No F-32, Block 04, Clifton, Karachi, which was transferred in the name of the accused, Zardari, from the account of Ahmed, it says. According to the NAB, accused Zardari failed to provide any justification for the acceptance of an amount of Rs150 million, which proves that the amount received through a complicated, circuitous, and devious route by using Zain Malik and his trusted person accused Ahmed, by concealing the origin and trail of money.

The NAB reference says that during investigation, it has transpired that the accused, Ahmed, was appointed as a stenographer in the President House, who remained there from 2009 till 2013 and in the same period, the accused, Zardari was the president of Pakistan.

The financial profile of the accused, Ahmed, is also investigated, which shows that the accused, Ahmed had no such source of income to match with the magnitude of transactions in the above mentioned joint account, it says.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021