ISLAMABAD – The Supreme Court ordered on Saturday that Omni Group chairperson Anwar Majeed, his son Abdul Ghani Majeed and former Pakistan Stock Exchange chairman Hussain Lawai be relocated to Islamabad.
An apex court bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Mian Saqib Nisar heard a case regarding money laundering through fake bank accounts.
During the hearing, Majeed’s counsel requested that his client should be investigated in Karachi, however, the chief justice rejected the request.
‘Anwar Majeed be shifted to PIMS Hospital and AG Majeed and Lawai to Adiala jail,’ Justice Nisar remarked and added that if Anwar Majeed cannot travel on an ordinary plane then an air ambulance should be arranged.
The top judge said that the said people were influential and wield power in the southern metropolis so they should be shifted for an independent investigation.
‘After the investigation is complete, we will see whether they should be shifted back to Karachi,’ observed the judge.
Justice Ijazul Ahsan also cast doubt over the insistence of Majeed’s counsel and remarked that his request was giving the impression that there was another reason behind it.
Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Director General Bashir Memon informed the court that Anwar Majeed was not cooperating in the inquiry.
The joint investigation team (JIT) has now been given full authority and a report should be presented within 10 days, remarked the top judge.
Majeed’s counsel informed the bench that Omni Group owes Rs1.2 billion to Silk Bank, Rs1.8 billion to Summit Bank, Rs4.98 billion to National Bank and Rs4.6 billion to Sindh Bank.
This amount will be paid back in the form of property, said the counsel.
When the officials associated with JIT said that the rates of properties were overvalued, the chief justice stated that heads of all banks should submit affidavits regarding prices of the properties.
The Federal Investigation Agency is investigating 32 people in relation to money laundering from fictitious accounts, involving former president Asif Ali Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur.
As per a report by FIA, over Rs100 billion was involved in the case instead of the original amount estimated to be Rs35 billion.
