An ongoing money laundering case against Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader and founder Altaf Hussain has presumably been shifted to Islamabad from Karachi on the directives issued by the interior ministry, DawnNewsTV reported.

On Friday, an anti-terrorism court (ATC) was hearing a money-laundering case against Altaf Hussain and others wherein a Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) official appeared before the court and informed that the federal government has decided to shift the case to Islamabad’s court.

Furthermore, the court was informed that the interior ministry has already issued a notification in this regard. Upon hearing this, the ATC judge sought a copy of the said notification and remarked that the matter regarding the transfer of the trial will be decided later after examining the legal status of that notification.

Meanwhile, the FIA officials claimed that evidence related to alleged money laundering has been gathered against the MQM leaders.

“The suspects involved in money laundering could not be traced earlier due to lack of evidence and non-cooperation from the UK based firm, however, now there is enough evidence to prove the charges,” the officials claimed.

Earlier, the FIA had stated that it had hired the services of a British legal firm to gather evidence against the accused and also to contest the case against Altaf Hussain and others charged with money laundering.

Dawn reported last month that the Metropolitan Police have identified no new line of inquiry after assessing the material passed on to it about the money laundering investigation against founder Altaf Hussain.