LHC rejects Ayyan Ali's bail plea in money laundering case
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ISLAMABAD: Lahore High Court’s Rawalpindi bench on Tuesday rejected supermodel Ayyan Ali’s bail plea, upholding an earlier decision from a customs court.
Ayyan Ali’s counsel, Sardar Ishaq, while presenting his arguments to Justice Mahmood Maqbool Baqar, said the money found was Ayyan’s but she was not aware that traveling abroad with cash in excess of $10,000 was a criminal offence.
Ishaq requested the court to grant Ayyan bail since the investigation had been completed and she had filed documents justifying the cash recovered from her.
But customs prosecutor Naeem Lodhi said Ayyan was unable to provide reasonable answers on why she was carrying the money in her luggage.
Justice Mahmood, after hearing arguments from both sides, rejected the supermodel's bail plea, and reserved his judgement with regards to the case.
Ayyan Ali was arrested by customs officials on March 14 from Benazir Bhutto International Airport Islamabad after $508,000 were recovered from her possession.
A special customs court had rejected her bail plea on March 16 and sent her on 14 days judicial remand.
Know more: No bail for Ayyan in money laundering case.
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On DawnNews
Comments (39) Closed
Mar 31, 2015 06:41pm
Let the girl live in peace. Stop pestering her for a petty crime. Instead use your resources to catch bigger crooks.
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Mar 31, 2015 07:09pm
It’s better for her to open up and own up everything now so that the ones behind it all also get investigated. This might save her in getting away lightly than whistle-blowing after conviction and getting heavy sentence.
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Mar 31, 2015 07:17pm
I do not understand who these people are trying to fool. first of all she was way way way over the legal limit to carry the cash. I believe the limit is $10,000. Secondly, when you are in showbiz, sportsman, or any other occupation that includes foreign tours and earnings from those tours, then majority of the dealings is done via celebrity's agent who are aware of these laws. But lets' say for argument sake, she really did not know the law, my question is that since when Pakistani model's earnings are in millions of dollars. It not like she was working for Victoria Secret or featured in Paris ramp shows. I mean $0.5 million is a significant amount for crying out loud. This is a straight up money laundering case. imprisoning her will not fetch anything unless authorities go after the big fish.
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Mar 31, 2015 07:29pm
@Pragmatist really! She broke the law and must take the consequences. Do the crime, do the time. Just because the powerful get away doesn't mean every criminal is left unpestered. She is OBVIOUSLY hiding something
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Mar 31, 2015 07:30pm
@Pragmatist Money laundering is a petty crime? Ridiculous
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Mar 31, 2015 07:30pm
Amusing that you find this as "A petty Crime".
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Mar 31, 2015 07:37pm
@Pragmatist It matters not whether a crime is a big one or a small one. All criminals need to be punished.
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Mar 31, 2015 07:38pm
It is very well organised crime backed by Top politicians in Pakistan. Nothing seems to happen in terms of bring them to justice.
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Mar 31, 2015 07:39pm
Do not let her go until all is revealed and the handlers are identified.
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Mar 31, 2015 07:47pm
A 21 year old Pakistani girl who was dumped by her father and made to live on her own needs appreciation for her rise to a super-model status. If she had been used as an errand-girl by some big crooks, she needs counselling and protection before asking her to vomit her inside secrets out.
Her employers are definitely having much bigger money to spend on their protection than this girl. It needs courage and honesty of the people handling her case to get the reality exposed for rightful action.
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Mar 31, 2015 08:10pm
Well Done.
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Mar 31, 2015 08:11pm
I do not understand why this news is soooo important and in front page almost every day.
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Mar 31, 2015 08:20pm
Your reporting is distorting the picture . The supermodel Ayyan Ali is not being refused the bail. It is the accused money launderer Ayyan Ali.
Her vocational status is irrelevant. Her crime is. She has been accused of money-laundering and this is a very serious charge of financial crime.
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Mar 31, 2015 08:21pm
@Pragmatist
It is not a petty crime my dear. The money most likely was not her. The documents can be forged easily in Pakistan. Probably she is just a courier for someone else and may have done the same multiple times before without being caught.
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Mar 31, 2015 08:27pm
CATCH the big fish and the way goes through Ayyan.
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Mar 31, 2015 08:45pm
Ayyan Ali’s counsel, Sardar Ishaq, while presenting his arguments to Justice Mahmood Maqbool Baqar, said the money found was Ayyan’s but she was not aware that traveling abroad with cash in excess of $10,000 was a criminal offence.
Ignorance of law is no excuse + she is a supermodel who gets paid heavily in dollars/rupee/dinars not a primary school teacher that she wouldn't know about money laundering.
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Mar 31, 2015 08:46pm
@FeudalKingdom
what about the real culprits.
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Mar 31, 2015 08:47pm
@John
Wish we could know the big fish.
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Mar 31, 2015 08:51pm
Resourceless people wont get bail...
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Mar 31, 2015 09:42pm
let the law take its own course.
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Mar 31, 2015 09:45pm
Man, after all this commotion, I will remember the 10,000 cash limit for the rest of my life.
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Mar 31, 2015 10:03pm
oh so the pretty girl didn't know that carrying more than 10000 dollars is a crime. OH sho shweet of her....sho innocent...don't worry after spending few years in jail she will know that carrying 10,000 dollars in cash is actually illegal.
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Mar 31, 2015 10:28pm
@M.Saeed I agree with you. What she did was wrong but there is a way to handle this particular situation and get to those who are the root of the problem.
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Mar 31, 2015 11:52pm
@Pragmatist Carrying half a million cash is not a petty crime by any standards. The key is to find the people behind the scene, so she needs to stay behind the bars until that is accomplished.
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Apr 01, 2015 12:13am
@Pragmatist thats what they are doing now. tell me how could they catch bigger crooks? is there any other technology to catch them?
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Apr 01, 2015 12:34am
Half a million for the actress/model is not too much. Rahat Ali was carrying that kind of money from India to Pakistan and nothing happened, so let the little girl go to Dubai. She is capable of sending more foreign exchange to Pakistan that you guys need.
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Apr 01, 2015 12:46am
The girl is just a pawn. Who will be man enough to catch the real culprit?
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Apr 01, 2015 01:12am
@Pragmatist petty crime which planet do you live on over £508,000 are you kidding, in the UK you would never get out of jail if caught you were caught with that kind of loot. serves her right she could always model the prison line of clothes whilst she is in the big house.
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Apr 01, 2015 01:19am
@aman how funny well said.
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Apr 01, 2015 02:27am
Two things: 1) she knowingly committed crime, and must be punished, 2) the money is not her's, she must name the person who the money belongs to.
Evidently, it is black money. This case must be investigated fully and quickly. It is a test case. If the other names do not come up, you can assume that Nawaz is involved. He knows who they are. I am amazed. It is possible only in Pakistan.
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Apr 01, 2015 03:12am
You do the crime, you do the time!
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Apr 01, 2015 04:15am
If rahat fateh ali khan can get away with it, why not her?
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Apr 01, 2015 04:17am
she is just a greedy scapegoat,she made 40 trip in last two years and may take millions crook money out of country,even she is working for some body still she did crime in greed and should be punished.at the same time poor she got caught and biggest crook our pm the money laundering master is still our pm.
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Apr 01, 2015 04:45am
I think the custom official are trying to show to the media and public that how smart they are. They have made Ayan "Qurbani ka Bakra". We all know that in Pakistan there are so many big fish infact crocodiles taking the lions share from custom. Customs official never acted against them.
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Apr 01, 2015 05:51am
@Pragmatist a crime is a crime, no matter how tiny it is! If they are working on it, let them be! This would send a good message to others!
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Apr 01, 2015 05:55am
I think its a sham or is it a shame. Murderers and looters of public go free and this woman is a threat to society who must be kept locked up.
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Apr 01, 2015 05:57am
@tamza She is a very small fish in the tank full of big bad sharks. First take care of the sharks who have plundered and stole Pakistan's wealth and have stashed it overseas. Everyone knows who they are. Let us go get them.
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Apr 01, 2015 06:14am
@Hg "Man, after all this commotion, I will remember the 10,000 cash limit for the rest of my life."
Me too. I usually stuff $100k in my suitcase in haste while leaving for the airport ( just like you seem to do). From now on, I'll remember to stuff in only $10k.
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Apr 01, 2015 06:19am
If the government provides her enough protection she should spill the beans and disclose the real culprits -----the corrupt politicians behind this fiasco.
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