The Combined Investigation Team (CIT) of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has started investigation into the fake bank accounts and money laundering case against former President and Co-Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party Asif Ali Zardari, Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and real estate developer and builder Malik Riaz.
A senior official of NAB said that the anti-graft body reviewed the Supreme Court's judgement regarding fake bank accounts and money laundering case in detail in a meeting presided over by Chairman NAB Justice Javed Iqbal (retd). Prosecutor General NAB Syed Asghar Haider, Director General (DG) Operations Zahir Shah, DG NAB Rawalpindi Irfan Naeem Mangi and other senior officials of the NAB were present in the meeting, he added. He said that the meeting constituted CIT headed by Irfan Naeem Mangi, who was a member of the joint investigation team (JIT) in the Panama Papers case against former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, to probe the case involving Asif Ali Zardari, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Chief Minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah, MNA Faryal Talpur and Bahria Town owner Malik Riaz. The chairman NAB will supervise the case, he said.
The JIT in its report has accused 172 people of having fake bank accounts. The federal cabinet on the recommendations of the JIT on December 27 placed the names of 172 prominent individuals on the ECL, including the names of Zardari, Bilawal, Talpur, Murad Ali Shah, Farooq H Naek and several other leaders and provincial ministers belonging to the PPP.
However, the federal cabinet in its meeting held on January 17 removed the names of Bilawal and Shah from no-fly list in the wake of apex court's judgement in the fake accounts case.
According to apex court order, the JIT will assist NAB's CIT and continue its investigations regarding the matter which it has discussed in its report. The NAB will complete its investigation in two months, he said, adding that NAB will file references in the Accountability Court in Islamabad.
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