KARACHI, Dec 22: A civil judge and judicial magistrate (south) on Monday extended the physical remand of the director of a foreign exchange firm till Dec 24 in a foreign currency scam.
The Federal Investigation Agency arrested Mehboob Rehmatullah Moti, director and partner of Al-Sahara Exchange Company, on Dec 17 on charges of illegally transferring foreign currency worth billions of rupees abroad. The following day FIA officials produced him in court and obtained his physical custody till Dec 22. The suspect was again produced before civil judge and judicial magistrate Asif Ahmed on Monday. FIA officials requested the court to extend the physical remand.
According to the prosecution, a case was registered against the suspect on Dec 17 after initiating an inquiry on a complaint (No 108/2008) lodged by the State Bank of Pakistan regarding illegal transfer of money abroad. It said that besides the authorised exchange business, the firm indulged in huge illegal transfer of money with the connivance of different banks, exchange companies, money changers, businessmen and private parties. The suspect had allegedly received billions of rupees from private parties for the purpose of Hawala that were subsequently transferred to other parties, which caused huge financial losses to the national exchequer, it added.
The case (83/08) was registered against the suspect under Sections 5, 8, 22 and 23 of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1947, read with Sections 7, 8 and 20 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Ordinance, 2007 and Sections 409, 420, 467, 471, 477-A/34 of the Pakistan Penal Code at the FIA crime circle branch, Karachi.
Pre-arrest bail
In a case pertaining to an attempt on the life of Asif Ali Zardari in 1999, an additional district and sessions judge extended the interim pre-arrest bail of Najaf Mirza till Jan 17, 2009.
The arguments of Abu Bakar Zardari, who is assisting the prosecution, could not be recorded since he was said to be out of the city. The applicant’s counsel and the public prosecutor have already recorded their arguments on the bail plea.
Former NAB chairman Saifur Rehman Khan, his brother Mujibur Rehman Khan, former inspector-general of police Rana Maqbool, former deputy inspector-general of police Farooq Amin Qureshi and former superintendent of the central prison Najaf Mirza were facing charges of obtaining the physical custody of Asif Ali Zardari apparently in an ‘illegal manner’ from an anti-terrorism court on the night between May 15 and 16, 1999 and taking him to the CIA centre, where they allegedly tortured and forced him to record incriminatory statements.
Meanwhile, the court issued copies of the warrants, which had been issued earlier for the arrest of the accused, on the request of public prosecutor Abdul Maroof.
The prosecutor informed the court that Interpol sought copies of the warrants and other information about the absconding accused from the interior ministry. The ministry on court directives had earlier contacted Interpol for the arrest of four accused residing abroad.
Dear visitor, the comments section is undergoing an overhaul and will return soon.