KARACHI: An antiterrorism court on Tuesday transferred a money laundering case against Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s London-based founder Altaf Hussain and others to an ATC in Islamabad for further trial.

MQM chief with former federal minister Babar Ghauri, former senator Ahmed Ali, former Karachi deputy mayor Arshad Vohra, Khawaja Sohail and Khawaja Rehan and others has been booked in the case pertaining to alleged money laundering.

The judge of the ATC-II, who was conducting the trial, issued a letter regarding transfer of the case to ATC, Islamabad, for trial.

The court transferred the case in compliance of an official notification issued by the interior ministry on Oct 1, 2018.

The court directed its office to transfer the record and proceedings of the case to the ATC, Islamabad.

The provincial home department’s registrar for the ATCs, Abdul Waheed Khoso, had intimated the ATC-II about the interior ministry’s decision two weeks ago and requested it to take necessary action.

Earlier on May 3, the trial court allowed the Federal Investigation Agency’s investigating officer to issue notice to the persons concerned to indicate the source of their income, earning or assets by means of which they had acquired their properties.

The court issued this direction while allowing an application filed by the FIA IO under Sections 8 (attachment of property involved in money laundering), 9 (investigation), 14 (search and seizure), 15 (search of persons) and 21(2)(a) of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2010 read with Section 155 (information in non-cognizable cases) of the criminal procedure code.

The order said: “In the FIR filed by complainant Sarfaraz Anwar Merchant it was stated that the MQM and its charity wing Khidmat-e-Khalq Foundation are maintaining different bank accounts in the Muslim Commercial, Al-Falah and Allied banks and using that money for money laundering generating from various illegal activities like extortion (bhatta), killing, murder, kidnapping for ransom, illegal activities, land grabbing, selling government lands to private parties (china-cutting) and other unlawful activities to use the proceed of crime to purchase deadly weapons, to wage war against Pakistan, promoting incitement, violence, ethnic and internal disturbance.

“It was further stated that the funds collected by the KKF are being misused by Altaf Hussain and his accomplices through the MNAs, Senators, Deputy Mayor and other members of MQM.

“The huge cash withdrawals have been made from the bank accounts of KKF and being used for the purchase of deadly weapons, destructions, cash smuggling to the United Kingdom for Altaf Hussain as well as creating terrorism in Pakistan and during election period.

“Altaf Hussain and the members of MQM are apparently guilty of money laundering and acting against the sovereignty and integrity of Pakistan,” the judge quoted the FIR in the order.

The court allowed the IO to issue notice to the persons concerned to indicate the source of their income, earning or assets by means of which they had acquired their properties.

Published in Dawn, May 29th, 2019