Scotland Yard extends bail of Altaf, others

LONDON: Scotland Yard extended the bails of Altaf Hussain and others in the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) related money laundering investigation till early October.
Geo News is aware that Altaf Hussain was due to answer his bail at the Southwark police station on July 15 while Sarfraz Merchant, Muhammad Anwar and Tariq Mir were due to return in the following days to another central London police station. There is no change in the police bail conditions for any of the accused and Geo News has learnt that all of them are free to travel abroad in consultation and agreement with the police.
Police sources told Geo News that the decision to extend the bail of the accused was taken after the startling developments inPakistan and the UK in the last a few weeks. A team of Scotland Yard is in Pakistan interviewing the suspects involved in the murder of Dr Imran Farooq. Chaudhry Nisar confirmed on Wednesday that the British police team had been in Pakistan.
This scribe knows that deliberations were held by the police in London after documents were released and the police decided that it was best to extend the dates. Geo News has learnt that neither MQM nor Sarfraz Merchant applied for the extension of bail dates and the decision to extend the bails was solely of the police.
A firestorm was caused after papers related to Tariq Mir and Sarfraz Merchant were released in media, divulging information of the privileged nature. One of the papers related to Tariq Mir was disowned by the police but the document related to Sarfraz Merchant was owned by the police as the “genuine police document”. Sarfraz Merchant’s pre-interview briefing paper alleged that two senior MQM leaders had accepted under the police interviews that they received funding from the Indian government to run their operations in Pakistan and the UK.
Separately, speaking to Geo News, a Scotland Yard official refuted a news item in Pakistani media that Altaf Hussain’s bail had been

extended “indefinitely”. The decision to extend bails was taken on Wednesday afternoon, approved by custody sergeants at the police station concerned. The MQM related money laundering accused are being investigated under the proceeds of crime act 2002. Scotland Yard has stepped up security around the house of Sarfraz Merchant after the leakage of document.