RAWALPINDI: Investigations into model Ayyan Ali’s alleged dirty deals and money smuggling have widened to include her mother and other associates.
Sources close to the investigation said the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) wants to know if her mother Farhat Sultan and Dubai-based Najeeb Haroon, whom Ayyan sold files of five plots in Bahria Town through the deal-maker Mumtaz Hussain, evaded any taxes.
“We will also look into ‘money laundering’ charges if any evidence surfaces that the money Ayyan was carrying when caught could be used in criminal activities,” Additional Director Qaisar Ishfaq of the Internal Revenue told Dawn.
Read: ‘Interim challan states Ayyan is guilty’
She faces two-year imprisonment, and fine, if convicted of the charge, he said.
Ayyan was caught at the Islamabad international airport on March 14 with a suitcase-full of half a million dollars and stopped from leaving for Dubai. She is in jail since and is being investigated.
An FBR team, headed by Director General Haroon M.K. Tareen, has been investigating Ayyan’s tax record, her sources of income, from whom she got $500,000.
Also read: Middleman, buyer in Ayyan’s real estate deal to be arrested
FBR’s Intelligence and Investigation Wing is also trying to find out which money changer the dollars came from. It is also looking into the bank accounts of the mother and daughter, and details of the payments she received for modeling and appearance in advertisements.
Sources say the wing will ask the Customs investigators to give it access to the CCTV footage of Ayyan’s arrival at Islamabad airport.
It reportedly showed a man receiving her and carrying her suitcase stuffed with dollars through the Rawal Lounge, which is meant for the VIPs only.
Tax investigators are keen to have access to the CCTV images of the scene, the data of Ayyan’s cellphone, her suitcase and other belongings she was carrying, such as her cheque book.
“CCTV images will help us identify the mysterious man who facilitated Ayyan at the airport like a protocol officer,” said one investigator.
Though the man’s identity has not been disclosed by any investigating agency, reports have appeared that the pass issued to a personal assistant of a former president, that allowed the holder access to all airports in the country, was cancelled in the wake of the botched money smuggling incident.
Published in Dawn, May 7th, 2015
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