ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court on Thursday approved the interim pre-arrest bail petitions of former president Asif Ali Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur and granted them bail till April 10 in the mega money laundering case.
An IHC division bench heard the petitions of the former president and his sister and approved their pre-arrest bail. The bench ordered Zardari and Talpur to submit bail bonds amounting to Rs1 million each.
Zardari and Talpur had approached the IHC seeking pre-arrest bail to avoid arrest in the fake bank accounts and money laundering case case.
In the identical petitions filed through their counsels, the former president and his sister claimed that certain authorities were dragging the two into the controversy to defame them.
Regarding the case, the petitions stated that “the instant matter arises out of inquiries initiated by Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) regarding fake accounts connected with various individuals and entities”.
The petitions alleged that the FIA, instead of investigating the matter itself, had stated before the Supreme Court that there was slow progress in the matter and that the probe was being obstructed.
Earlier this month, a banking court in Karachi had ordered the transfer of the fake bank accounts and mega money laundering case to Islamabad.
The FIA is investigating 32 people in relation to money laundering from fictitious accounts, including Zardari and Talpur. Zardari’s close aide Hussain Lawai was arrested in July last year in connection with the probe.
The former president’s other close aide and Omni Group chairman Anwar Majeed a close aide and Omni Group chairman and his son, Abdul Ghani, were arrested by FIA in August 2018.
