ISLAMABAD: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Tuesday registered a case against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan and 10 others leaders in prohibited funding case.
The case was filed by the state through FIA’s Corporate Banking Circle in Islamabad. The first information report (FIR), stated that Arif Masood Naqvi — the owner of the Wooton Cricket Limited — transferred “ill-gotten” money to a United Bank Limited (UBL) account registered under the name of the PTI.
The First Information Report (FIR) stated that the accused including former premier Imran Khan violated Foreign Exchange Act and all of the nominated persons were beneficiaries of the private bank account.
The nominated persons included Sardar Azhar Tariq, Saifullah Nyazee, Syed Younus, Aamer Mehmood Kiani, Tariq Shaikh and Tariq Shafi, whereas, the manager of the private bank was also nominated in the FIR.
According to the FIA, PTI had a private bank account titled Naya Pakistan, whereas, the bank manager illegally permitted to operate the account.
It read that $2.1 million had been deposited by Abraaj Group, whereas, PTI had submitted Arif Naqvi’s affidavit to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) that the company deposited the huge sum of money to the political party’s bank account.
The FIA stated in the FIR that the affidavit was false and counterfeit. The political party had also received funds from Wootton Cricket and the head of the private bank facilitated the accused by providing suspicious records.
“The purpose stated in the swift messages of the transactions is ‘agreed transfer’ to disguise the true nature, origin, location, movement and ownership of these funds. Arif Masood Naqvi is also the founder/owner of Abraaj Group, UAE, which collapsed in 2018. Arif Masood Naqvi lied about the performance of Abraaj’s funds by inflating their value,” the complaint added.
“Therefore, Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) imposed penalties on two Abraaj Group companies for carrying out unauthorised activities in Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and misusing investors’ money. The regulator imposed penalties amounting to $299.30 million on Abraaj Investment Management Limited and Abraaj Capital respectively.”
It further said that Naqvi was also facing trials in the United Kingdom and the United States for defrauding investors.
The FIR further said that 12 CTRs/STRs had to be reported by the UBL management to the authorities but they failed to do so. “Chaudhary Shahid Bashir, the operation manager of UBL’s Jinnah Avenue branch in Islamabad, facilitated these suspicious/illegal transactions by not reporting the aforesaid illegalities to the concerned authorities and also allowed Internet Merchant Acquiring Agreement changing the title of the account to Naya Pakistan”.
Subsequently, the FIA said a case under sections 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document), 477-A (falsification of accounts) and 109 (punishment of abetment if the Act abetted committed In consequence and where no express provision is made for its punishment) of the Pakistan Penal code has been registered against Imran, his party leaders and the management of UBL.
They have also been booked under Section 23 (penalty and procedure) of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1947.
The FIR comes days after the FIA took Saifullah Nyazee and Amir Zaman into protective custody for interrogation in the case triggering several condemnations from the party.
The prohibited funding case
Last month, the ECP had issued its verdict in the prohibited funding case — previously referred to as the foreign funding case — against the PTI, which stated that the party did indeed receive prohibited funding.
A three-member ECP bench headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sikander (CEC) Sultan Raja had announced the verdict in a case filed by PTI founding member Akbar S. Babar which had been pending since November 14, 2014.
In the verdict, the commission noted that the party “knowingly and willfully” received funding from Wootton Cricket Limited, operated by business tycoon Arif Naqvi. The party was a “willing recipient” of prohibited money of $2,121,500, it said.
The ECP said that the party “knowingly and willfully” also received donations from Bristol Engineering Services (a UAE-based company), E-Planet Trustees (a Cayman Islands private registered company), SS Marketing Manchester (a UK-based private company), PTI USA LLC-6160 and PTI USA LLC-5975 which were “hit by prohibition and in violation of Pakistani laws”.
It went on to say that the party also received donations through PTI Canada Corporation and PTI UK Public Limited Company. “From both the companies, the amounts received into its accounts of PTI Pakistan are hit by prohibition and in violation of Pakistani laws.
“PTI Pakistan, through fundraising campaigns by PTI USA LLC-6160 and PTI USA LLC-5975, was a recipient of donations from 34 foreign nationals and 351 foreign-based companies. Collection of donations and contributions from foreign nationals and companies are hit by prohibition and in violation of Pakistani laws,” it said.
The electoral watchdog also said that the PTI had been found to be a beneficiary of donations made by Romita Shetty, a US-based business woman of Indian-origin which was in violation of the law.
The ECP said the party had only owned eight accounts before the commission and declared 13 accounts to be unknown. “The data obtained from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) reveals that all the 13 accounts disowned by the PTI were opened and operated by senior PTI management and leadership at [a] central and provincial level.”
The commission noted that the party also failed to mention three accounts which were also being operated by the party’s senior leadership. Non-disclosure and concealment of 16 bank accounts by the PTI is a “serious lapse” on part of the PTI’s leadership and in violation of Article 17(3) of the Constitution, it said.
