In new headache for Zardari, former SECP director turns approver against him

The Park Lane case has been registered under different sections of the NAO, 1999, and AML Act, 2010.

ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Grip around former president Asif Ali Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur seems to get tighter as Security Exchange Commission of Pakistan’s (SECP) former director Javed Hussain has turned approver in the Park Lane Estate Company reference against him.

The SECP’s former director was produced in an accountability court upon expiry of his physical remand under the custody of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

The NAB prosecutor argued in the courtroom for extension in Javed’s physical remand for carrying out further investigation into the case. To which, the court asked about the number of days the suspect had been under NAB custody. The court was told that it had been 49 days.

Subsequently, the court rejected NAB’s request and sent Javed to jail under judicial remand.

In the previous hearing, the court had extended Javed’s physical remand till Oct 15. During the hearing, the NAB prosecutor informed the court about proceedings in investigation process in the case.

Javed Hussain is in NAB custody since end August in Park Lane case, for allegedly “facilitating the resignation of former President Asif Ali Zardari from two companies when he was President”.

On Oct 4, an accountability court extended PPP leaders’ judicial remand till Oct 22 in the money laundering through fake bank accounts and Park Lane Estate Company references as both of them could not be indicted in the hearing.

Judge Muhammad Bashir conducted the hearing of the cases, and remarked a course of action should be determined to avoid any delay in proceedings. NAB Prosecutor Sardar Muzaffar argued that a procedure was determined earlier as well.

To this, the judge responded that the number of suspects involved in the case surged to 30 from earlier two.

Later, Zardari spoke to the media outside the court and expressed his full support to Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam’s (JUI-F) anti-government Azadi March.

The former president said that his prayers were with Fazlur Rehman and that PPP was backing his movement to topple the incumbent government.

The Park Lane case has been registered under different sections of the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999, and the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2010.

Mr Zardari has been accused of being involved “in extending loan and its misappropriation by M/s Parthenon Private Limited, M/S Park Lane Estate Private Limited and others”.

On July 29, an accountability court issued copies of the Park Lane reference against former president Asif Zardari which states that the Asif Zardari had taken Rs 1.5 billion loan from National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) in the name of fake company Parthenon.

At that time, NAB had stated that it was proved during the investigation of the case that PPP leader had done corruption and money laundering with the help of his close aides. The NAB further had stated the loans were taken by showing fake documents and those loans were then used for personal gains.

According to the reference, Rs1.5 billion were taken in 2009 and Rs800 million were withdrawn in 2012. It had added that the NBP suffered loss of Rs3.77 billion due this fraud. It had further mentioned that Zardari as the president had forged documents to comply with the loan policy and coaxed the NBP into loan approval.

Asif Zardari was 25% share holder in Park Lane Company and he also made a fake company Parthenon in the name of his employees. Besides, a property was also bought in the IBC Center where the bureau has sealed eight floors.

On July 1, the NAB had arrested Zardari in the Park Lane case while he was already in custody with the bureau’s Rawalpindi directorate in connection with the fake accounts case.

On June 10, Asif Ali Zardari had surrendered himself to a team of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) after IHC rejected his and his sister Faryal Talpur’s pre-arrest bail plea in the money laundering case.

The accountability watchdog had arrested him in June after the cancellation of his pre-arrest bail by the Islamabad High Court in the fake bank accounts case.

On June 26, Zardari had withdrawn his bail applications in three cases saying he knew why he was suffering and "does not want to embarrass anyone".

Later, he withdrew his applications seeking bail in the Park Lane, Tosha Khana luxury vehicles and bulletproof vehicles references filed against him by NAB.

The NAB has been conducting investigation in pursuance of the Supreme Court’s verdict in the money laundering of billions through fake accounts case wherein it forwarded the joint investigation team (JIT) report with directions to investigate and file references.