Aslam Masood shifted to RIC due to chest pain
The suspect was involved in laundering over Rs 54 billion through 107 fake bank accounts.
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Mastermind of the money-laundering and fake accounts case Aslam Masood, who was arrested at the Islamabad airport on Friday night, has been shifted to Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology due to chest pain.
The witness was due to produce before local court in Islamabad today.
Aslam Masood, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Omni Group, was detained by the Interpol when he was boarding a flight from London to Jeddah in October. He was subsequently extradited to Pakistan from Saudi Arabia.
He was taken into custody by a four-member Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on reaching Islamabad. Sources informed that Aslam Masood also worked as Accountant to former president and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari.
The suspect was involved in laundering over Rs 54 billion through 107 fake bank accounts.
Money laundering case
On December 24, the Joint Investigation Team (JIT), formed on the apex court’s orders to probe into the alleged money-laundering case, presented its 128-page final report to the court which included recommendations for filing 16 NAB references.
The report had mentioned that 29 fake accounts were identified by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) which laundered Rs42 billion, however, the team further discovered 11,500 bank accounts of 924 account holders, 59 Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) and 24,500 Cash Transactions Reports (CTRs).
All of these details were scrutinized, besides the loan profile of 924 individuals.
The report further stated that the fake accounts were opened through the Omni Group, however the accounts had been engaged with direct transactions with the Zardari Group, Bahria Town, Sindh Government departments and certain contractors while the ultimate beneficiary of money laundering was Zardari’s family.
Later, the court had ordered Zardari to submit his reply by December 31, however, during the previous hearing extended his and his sister s interim bail till January 7.
On September 6, the SC had formed a JIT to probe into alleged mega money laundering of Rs42 billion channeled through fake bank accounts in three banks.
Besides the Zardari family, several prominent individuals including former Summit Bank president Hussain Lawai and Omni Group president Anwar Majeed, have been accused in the case.
Property tycoon Malik Riaz, his son-in-law Zain, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari have been also included in the inquiry.
