KARACHI: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) remanded Armaghan to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) custody on Thursday in a money laundering case.

The federal agency booked Armaghan, the prime suspect in the Mustafa murder case, for offences under Section 3 (offence of money laundering) and 4 (punishment for money laundering) of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2010 (Amended 2020).

On Thursday, FIA Assistant Director Shahid Ali appeared before the administrative judge of the ATCs — who also serves as the presiding officer of the ATC-17 at the judicial complex inside the central prison — and sought physical custody of Armaghan after obtaining no-objection certificates (NOCs) from ATC-II and the judicial magistrate concerned.

Meanwhile, the jail authorities produced Armaghan before the court where he was questioned regarding his alleged involvement in the money laundering.

Suspect denies physical, psychological coercion by officers

In response, Armaghan acknowledged his awareness of the case and informed the court that the FIA interrogated him on March 28 at the central prison after obtaining permission from the relevant ATC.

He denied facing any kind of maltreatment at the hands of FIA officials during the previous interrogation in the jail. He explicitly said that he had not been subjected to any physical or psychological abuse or coercion.

When questioned about the ownership of the vehicles seized by the federal agency, Armaghan confirmed that the vehicles belonged to him and were his lawful property.

After hearing the FIA and the suspect, the court allowed the application and remanded Armaghan in FIA custody for five days for further investigation.

“In light of the material evidence on record and after careful perusal of the case file, it is hereby ordered that the investigating officer is granted physical custody of Armaghan alias Army for a period of five days for the purpose of further investigation,” the order stated.

The court subsequently directed the jail authorities to hand over Armaghan to the FIA and noted that the physical remand was granted strictly in accordance with the law and to conduct a fair and impartial investigation.

The investigating officer (IO) was instructed to ensure that the suspect should be produced before the court at the next hearing.

The court also directed the IO to submit a comprehensive medical report, covering both physical and mental health, duly signed and attested by an authorised medical officer form a recognised government facility.

The court also observed that the suspect had the right to meet his legal counsel and family in accordance with the law.

According to the FIR, during a raid on Feb 8 at the bungalow of Armaghan, the law enforcement personnel recovered multiple laptops, weapons and instrument specifically intended for online financial fraud.

It added that the Anti-Violent Crime Cell (AVCC) later referred the matter to the FIA’s Anti-Money Laundering Circle.

The FIA claimed that it had conducted an authorised search at the bungalow, and seized 18 laptops and copies of scripts used to defraud victims.

Published in Dawn, April 11th, 2025