Intelligence officials say no evidence that $500,000 was ‘white money’
Bank account holders who transferred huge amounts to supermodel Ayyan Ali also included in investigation
ISLAMABAD: The joint investigation committee formed by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to probe Ayyan Ali money smuggling case will meet on Monday to review the progress made so far in the case.
The meeting will also decide the future plan of action after a thorough review of the progress made in the case and the clues customs investigators have come by until now. The joint investigation team consists of Model Customs Collectorate Islamabad Additional Collector Abdul Waheed, Customs Intelligence and Investigation Additional Director Asif Argan and Inland Revenue Intelligence and Investigation Deputy Director Amir Ilyas.
The joint investigation team is probing the allegations of money laundering against Ayyan Ali, and is busy collecting evidence against the supermodel in this regard. The joint investigation team has broadened its scope of investigation, and has also decided to include officials from a number of renowned brands for which Ayyan Ali modelled and appeared in advertisements.
According to sources, the joint investigation team has not come by any solid evidence to prove that the amount (more than $500,000) recovered from Ayyan Ali was ‘white money’. Moreover, sources claimed that Ayyan or her team of legal experts have also remained unable to prove the legitimacy of the recovered amount, which is why the scope of investigation has been widened.
According to official sources, the investigators have also come across some bank accounts, which are not operated by Ayyan Ali herself, but huge amounts have been transferred to Ayyan from these bank accounts.
Sources said that the holders of those bank accounts have also been included in the investigation process and they are being grilled by the joint investigation team. The said bank account holders are also being asked to give proof of the legitimacy of the money given to Ayyan Ali. The investigators are certain that this is a case of money laundering.
However, the court believes that the evidence presented before it has some technical issues, which is why a case of money laundering has not been initiated against the supermodel so far. On this, sources said that ambiguities and technical issues in the case will be removed soon, after which a case will be registered against Ayyan Ali on the charges of money laundering.
