GENEVA, Nov 16: Geneva lawyers for former prime minister Benazir Bhutto said on Friday they had lodged an appeal in a Swiss inquiry into alleged money laundering by Ms Bhutto and her husband.

The motion filed last week with Geneva’s criminal appeals court could lead to hearings in the long-running case, but not before early next year, Ms. Bhutto’s lawyer Alec Reymond said.

Geneva judicial authorities have been investigating allegations Bhutto and her husband Asif Ali Zardari received kickbacks from Swiss cargo inspection companies in the 1990s and that the multi-million dollar proceeds were stashed in Swiss bank accounts.

Investigating magistrate Vincent Fournier wrapped up his inquiry in late October and handed over his confidential findings to chief prosecutor Daniel Zappelli for action.

But if a motion is filed contesting an investigating magistrate’s decisions, a court is asked to rule.

“We have lodged an appeal with the appeals chamber on two grounds,” Reymond told Reuters.

The grounds were Fournier’s refusal to call certain witnesses that Bhutto had asked to be heard and his decision to let the Pakistan government remain a civil party in the criminal case, according to her lawyer.—Reuters