KARACHI, Aug 4: The Federal Investigation Agency is learnt to have initiated a thorough investigation into the financial affairs of all banned organisations and the Taliban across the country.
Sources in the interior ministry told Dawn that while other intelligence agencies were already gathering the details of bank accounts of the banned sectarian and Jihadi organisations, the FIA was assigned to locate and identify the financiers and donors of these organisations.
They said the FIA had started gathering details of the accounts maintained by Lashkar-i-Taiba, Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan, Harkatul Mujahideen, Al-Rashid Trust, Al-Badar, Saif-ul-Mujahideen, Tehreek-i-Jafferia Pakistan and Jaish Mohammed.
The sources said each proscribed organisation had been maintaining several local and foreign currencies accounts with different nationalised and commercial banks, including Habib Bank, National Bank, Allied Bank, Muslim Commercial Bank and Faysal Bank.
The sources said the new assignment to the FIA, reportedly given on the insistence of the Federal Bureau of Intelligence (FBI) of the United States, was also aimed at cross-checking the data so far collected by other intelligence agencies in this regard.
An official of the interior ministry said the FIA was the only agency which had trained expert investigators to detect the financial and economic crime. The FIA detectives are well-versed in the entire local and foreign banking procedures and are capable to gather the micro details of the financial transactions, he said.
The official said the commercial banks circles of the FIA, which mainly deal with the offences in the banks and financial institutions, had been assigned to gather the details of the accounts, maintained by the proscribed outfits.
Meanwhile, the sources in the FIA said the letters, seeking information about the accounts, had already been dispatched to the concerned banks and the investigators were still waiting for the banks’ replies.
They said the investigators had sought from the banks the information on the account opening forms along with the specimen signature cards of those operating these accounts on behalf of their respective organisations during a period between Feb 2000 and June 2002.
The sources said the photocopies of all bank instruments, such as checks, pay orders, demand draft and telex transfer, were also sought from the banks to detect the funds generating sources of the banned sectarian and Jihadi organisations.
Meanwhile, banking sources told Dawn some sensitive agencies had already obtained the information on the financial transactions of the banned organisations through the top officials of the concerned banks. At that time, the banks were told by the authorities that it was a policy matter and they must release the information.
They said now the banks would be reluctant to provide the required information to the FIA investigators, who would eventually have no legal cover for seeking such information from the banks.
The investigation officer can issue such order requiring production of any document or other thing which is in the custody of a bank or banker as defined in the Bankers’ Books Evidence Act, 1891, and relates, or might disclose any information which relates to the bank account of any person only for the purpose of investigating an offence under sections 403, 406, 408 and 409 and section 421 to 424 and section 465 to 477-A of the PPC either with prior permission in writing of a sessions court or a high court.
