What is hidden about Zardari, Faryal, Bilawal in Secret Volume 25?

ISLAMABAD: The fake accounts JIT report carries 27 volumes, 27 investigation reports and an executive summary of 135 pages with 95 big annexures.

The 25th volume of the JIT report carries explosive incriminating evidences against the key accused which has been kept confidential. Head of the JIT team Ehsan Sadiq requested the apex court not to disclose this volume.

Credible sources revealed that this volume consists of three parts i.e. 1) - System, 2)- Foreign Properties in US, UK, France and Dubai and - 3) Interior Sindh Agricultural Empire. The JIT claimed to unearth a “system of corruption” in Sindh where the key accused named in this report were minting more than Rs40 million monthly and then laundering through hawala and hundi through some 120 frontmen, Ayyan Ali, Younas Kudwai and Abdul Jabbar in particular. The KAM Crown International Company, owned by Majid family, was collecting all this laundered money, the sources further disclosed.

About foreign properties owned by Zardari and Talpur family, the JIT clubbed relevant addresses and details of some 25 properties directly/indirectly acquired by former President Asif Ali Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur in Paris, New York, London and Dubai, the sources revealed. Requests generated under Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) law to these countries have also been clubbed with this volume. The JIT has also initiated MLA requests to some other international jurisdictions as well. About interior Sindh agricultural empire, the sources claimed that there are around 120 agricultural farm houses owned by Zardaris and Talpurs which were not declared by MNAs Asif Zardari and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and MPA Faryal Talpur. The JIT obtained all the relevant documents, but DCOs of concerned areas despite repeated requests by the JIT refused to share the land original record.

Further volumes also carried important evidences against Bilawal Bhutto Zardari where payment of utility bills of Bilawal House Karachi was made through fake accounts. Rs1.53 million were paid to Karachi Water and Sewerage Board in May 2015. The complete details and evidences pertaining to ‘Expenditures and Renovation of Bilawal and Zardari Houses’, are also contained in the ‘JIT investigation report no 25. Expenditure of Bilawal House worth Rs4.14 million was paid out of the fake accounts to ‘The Deli Restaurant’ (Mrs Tina Mehdi) for catering and event services at Bilawal House, Karachi.

Purchase of air tickets worth Rs12.82 million was made through fake accounts routed through M/s Pak Paradise and M/s Fazl-e-Rabbi Travels for Bilawal Zardari, Assefa Zardari, Mirza Arshad Baig, Sharmila Farooqi and Asif Zardari. The current JIT explored 11,500 bank accounts of 924 account holders associated with the above mentioned accounts. Fifty-nine suspicious transaction reports (STRs) and 24,500 cash transaction reports (CTRs) associated with the above mentioned accounts were scrutinised along with the loan profile of 924 individuals and entities. The JIT summoned 885 persons, however, 767 appeared and were examined by the JIT, whereas 118 did not appear for details of persons summoned, appeared and not appeared before the JIT and could not be examined.

The JIT recommended that all these matters may be referred to the NAB, for a thorough inquiry/investigation and filing a reference in the accountability court for prosecuting those who were involved and recovery of proceeds of crime of payment of utility bills of Bilawal House Karachi and other expenditures from fake accounts. Main debtors and creditors included Omni Group, Bahria Town, Zardari Group, Parthenon Pvt Ltd, Zain Malik (son-in-law of Malik Riaz Hussain, CEO Bahria Town Pvt. Ltd), Arif Habib and a group of contractors/ builders including, Mustafa Memon, Sardar Ashraf D Bloch and Sher Muhammad Mugheri, etc. in this report.

The JIT also pointed role of Zardari as President of Pakistan where the JIT is of the opinion that he not only orchestrated this fraudulent misappropriation but also shareholders in M/s Park Lane where Bilawal Zardari have 50 percent direct beneficial shares. The JIT recommended that the NAB may be directed to file a reference against Zardari and his son and co-accused bank officials, in the accountability court and recover the misappropriated loan (Rs1.5 billion) along with the total outstanding loan of Rs3.74 billion (loss to the public exchequer).

The JIT named 24 key accused (operators, beneficial owners, abettors and bankers) including Anwar Majeed, head of Omni Group, Abdul Ghani Majid, Aslam Masood, CFO Omni Group, Muhammad Arif Khan, Accountant Omni Group, Noreen Sultan (the then Relationship Manager Summit), Kiran Aman (the then Operation Manager, Summit Bank, Adeel Shah Rashidi, Taha Raza, Unit Corporate Head, Hussain Lowai the then President Summit Bank, Nasser Abdullah Lootah, Chairman Summit Bank, MPA Faryal Talpur, Asif Zardari and Bilawal. The JIT has also revealed details about receipt of Rs10.02 billion kickbacks through ‘fake accounts’ by Asif Zardari where the probe into ICON Tower Project stemmed out of the finding that Zain Malik had deposited this amount from accounts of M/s Bahria Town. One Mushtaq Ahmed Mehar is a personal confidante of Asif Zardari who shared accounts with Zain Malik. The JIT also revealed that Ghulam Abbas Zardari and Hamid Samoo are trusted frontmen of Faryal Talpur who have not given the notarised general power of attorney with complete beneficial rights of ownership, sale/disposal to her which establishes that the beneficial owner of these properties is Faryal Talpur. Both own properties worth billions in Dubai, the JIT further revealed.

Sindh Govt Adviser Murtaza Wahab says, “It’s a pack of fiction based on conjectures and surmises. We will all come out and defend all allegations at the trial court.JIT’s finding were supposed to be kept confidential as per SC order but unfortunately information was leaked to malign PPP leadership.