KARACHI – One of the biggest money laundering scandal in Pakistan historyhas been revealed by renowned journalist Umer Cheema.
Tariq Sultan is an employee of a politically connected businessman ofKarachi with monthly salary around Rs25,000. But he came to know from FIAinvestigators that he is owner of a company, A-One International, which hasfive accounts in three banks used for suspicious transactions. Guess howmuch? Rs8 billion, The News has reported.
“I have not seen an Arab national in my life, let alone eight Arab(billion) rupees,” he told FIA which is investigating a potentialmoney-laundering scandal of Rs35 billion implicating a top political leaderalong with his businessman and banker friends. As many as 29 accountslocated at branches in Karachi of three banks were used for thetransactions.
As the money trail is available, though transaction has been layeredthrough shuffling of huge sums from one suspicious account to another, theFIA has identified big guns paying and receiving funds. The payments havelargely been credited through original accounts but routed via fakeaccounts into the accounts of intended beneficiaries.
Sindh government’s contractors, a property tycoon, sugar mills owner, aprotocol officer of a political house, a purchaser of 58 acres of land andothers are included among the senders.
The seller of the land was a district president Malir of a political partywho kept the purchaser in the dark about the real owner of the land ofSteel Mills of Pakistan, which has now moved Sindh High Court to claimownership. So far identified key beneficiaries of the funds: a toppolitical leader; his two close confidantes (a business magnate and aforeigner who happens to be chairman of a Pakistani bank used for thesetransactions).
From the accounts created in the name of Tariq Sultan alone, Rs3.04 billionhave been transferred to the chairman of the bank; Rs293.78 million to thebusiness magnet (Tariq is his employee), Rs10.50 million to the politicalleader whereas Rs2.20 billion in six other suspicious accounts. A cashwithdrawal of Rs490.26 million has also been made from the said accounts. Atravel agent has also been paid Rs25 million.
In addition to Tariq Sultan, another account holder, Erum Aqeel, thealleged owner of Ibrahim Linkers, has also expressed ignorance about thecompany created in her name and subsequently the accounts opened used formore than one billion rupees transactions.
The inquiry started after Financial Monitoring Unit of the State Bank ofPakistan generated a Suspicious Transaction Report in January this yearabout ten bank accounts; included among them were four in Summit Bank whichhad also come under scrutiny in November 2015 by FIA but the investigationwas halted within a month. Reasons remain unknown.
One each of these four accounts were created in the name of Tariq’s allegedbusiness concern (A-One International), Adnan Javed (Lucky International),Iqbal Arain (Iqbal Metal) and Muhammad Umair (Umair Associates). Other thanTariq, none of them is traceable at the given addresses, according to FIAsources.
Remaining six accounts reported by the State Bank are Royale Enterprises,Alfa Zulu (Pvt) Ltd, Logistic Trading, Ibrahim Linkers, Agro Farms Thattaand Parthenon (Pvt) Ltd.
As the investigation started, the FIA identified another 19 accounts linkedwith these 10 suspicious accounts. All 29 accounts are being maintained onthe names of alleged businesses of seven individuals.
As many as 16 accounts under scrutiny are at Summit Bank, eight at SindhBank and five at United Bank Limited. A recent effort to merge loss-makingSummit Bank into Sindh Bank has been thwarted by the Supreme Court ofPakistan when a shareholder of the Summit Bank moved the court.
The FIA’s investigation has found that Arif Khan and Aslam Masood, two topexecutives of the business magnate at the heart of investigation, wereoperating these accounts as per statements of the bankers and sugar brokerswho were instructed to credit payments there. Aslam has been described inthe FIA’s inquiry as close friend of Hussain Lawai, former Summit Bankpresident, who has recently been barred from flying abroad. Meanwhile, thebusiness magnate has already flown out.
Amanullah Memon of M/s Al-Asar Constructions & Builders, a fund creditor tothese accounts interviewed by FIA said he purchased a land measuring 58acres in Bin Qasim Town from M/s Al-Aqsa Builders & Developers owned byShaikh Adeel Akhtar (vice president of Malir chapter of a political party)through his company’s director Ehsan UIllah vide sale agreement dated02.06.2014.
He transferred the amount into the account of Umair Associates. The land isnow claimed by Steel Mills which has filed a suit in Sindh High Court.