Fake accounts case: Asif, Faryal file review petition against Jan 7 verdict

ISLAMABAD (92 News) – PPP co-chairman Asif Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur have decided to file a review petition in the Supreme Court against the January 7 verdict in the fake accounts case. The petition will be filed on Monday. According to the petition filed through Latif Khosa advocate, the FIA has failed to file the final challan in the banking court. Moreover, the JIT could not find direct evidence. “We want to take the matter to the logical end in a transparent way. The court formed a JIT on the request of the FIA and we appeared before the JIT and submitted a written reply,” it stated. Asif Zardari and Faryal Talpur, in the petition, stated that JIT submitted the report to the Supreme Court without listening to their stance. They said that the JIT report was based on assumptions and the JIT had recommended further probe into the matter. They demanded that the January 7 verdict be reviewed. On January 7, the Supreme Court had ordered that the fake accounts case be forwarded to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and directed the anti-corruption watchdog to wrap up its investigation within two months. The court also ordered that the names of PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Sindh Chief Minister Murad Shah be removed from both the exit control list and the joint investigation team's report on a probe into the case. The court was hearing a suo motu case regarding a delay into a 2015 Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) probe into money laundering of billions of rupees via fake bank accounts. Both Bilawal and Shah were named in the report submitted to the top court last month by the JIT which was tasked to probe the case. Several bigwigs, including former president Asif Zardari, his sister Faryal Talpur, former president of Summit Bank Hussain Lawai and Omni Group's Anwar Majeed, were all nominated in the case. Property tycoon Malik Riaz, his son-in-law Zain have also been included in the probe. On January 23, a banking court had extended interim bail of Asif Ali Zardari and Faryal Talpur till February 6 in money laundering case. Asif Ali Zardari  and Farryal Talpur were present during the hearing of the mega money laundering scam. The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) is investigating 32 people in relation to money laundering from fictitious accounts, including Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur. The money laundering scam was revealed when State Bank of Paistan sent a report of suspicious transaction to the Federal Investigation Agency in 2015. The FIA authorities say some bank managers and administration opened fake bank accounts at the behest of Omni Group during 2013 and 2015 for six months. The bank accounts were allegedly used for money laundering of Rs 35 billion.