ISLAMABAD, Sept. 6 (TNS): The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Thursday identified two more companies belonging to the Zardari Group in connection with the alleged Rs35 billion money laundering case.
The FIA in its progress report submitted in the Supreme Court stated that two additional companies — M/s Landmarks and National Gases (Pvt) Limited — tied up with the investigation.
It was further reported that FIA discovered the two companies from the hard disk confiscated during a raid on Khoski Sugar Mills -an Omni Group-owned facility in Karachi whose head Anwar Majeed is a close Zardari confidant.
The report said that “M/s Landmark is a partnership firm between Zardari, Talpur and Azra Fazal, whereas M/s NGS has several members of the Majeed family holding key positions”.
The FIA further said that it is analysing NGS’s transactions and “its role in the laundering of the money”.
Furthermore, it was reported to the court that five members of the Omni Group who, it claims, deposited funds into a Summit Bank account, after which the funds were routed to various banks in London.
“In addition to conventional banking channels, funds were also laundered via Hawal/Hundi system for the purchase of movable and immovable properties overseas,” the agency officials said.
Earlier, the apex court ordered the formation of a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to probe the alleged laundering of billions of rupees through fake bank accounts in connivance with senior bankers and others to suspected beneficiaries, including former president and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Asif Ali Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur.
