Faryal’s remand extended till July 8

ISLAMABAD: An accountability court (AC) on Monday extended the physical remand of Pakistan People’s Party leader Faryal Talpur till July 8, in the money laundering/fake accounts case.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) presented Talpur before the court. Her counsel, Lateef Khosa, said that his client has nothing to do with the Park Lane apartments and is not even its director.

The NAB arrested Faryal Talpur from Islamabad after her brother, former president, and Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, was arrested by the anti-graft body earlier.

The NAB is investigating four cases where the former president and his sister are the prime accused. The cases pertain to transactions worth hundreds of millions of rupees to the two leaders’ private companies, allegedly, through fake bank accounts.

The FIA is investigating 32 people in relation to money laundering from fictitious accounts, including Zardari and Talpur. Zardari’s close aide Hussain Lawai was arrested in July in connection with the probe.

The former president’s other close aide and Omni Group chairman Anwar Majeed, a close aide, and Omni Group chairman and his son, Abdul Ghani, were arrested by FIA in August. Over 20 ‘benami’ accounts at some private banks were opened in 2013, 2014 and 2015 from where transactions worth billions of rupees were made, according to sources. The amount, according to FIA sources, is said to be black money gathered from various kickbacks, commissions and bribes.