The menace of money laundering through “Hawala and Hundi” and normal banking channels flourished in the country since early 1990s. After the dismissal of pre-arrest bail petition by Lahore High Court in money laundering and assets beyond means case, National Accountability Bureau (NAB) arrested leader of the opposition Shabaz Sharif. The court dismissed the petition after hearing the arguments of defence layer Advocate Amjad Pervez and NAB prosecutor Syed Faisal Bukhari. NAB Prosecuter told the court about the monumental growth in the assets of Shabaz Sharif Family from 1990 and onwards and heavy amounts received by them through telegraphic transfers in 177 fake accounts and 63 suspicious accounts.
In another high profile mega money laundering case, Accountability Court in Islamabad indicted former President Asif Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur and summoned three prosecution witnesses on October 13. Other accused persons in mega money laundering case include former top banker Hussain Lawai, head of Omni Group Anwar Majeed and other.
To facilitate money laundering through fake bank accounts and accounts of employees of business enterprises, “Protection of Economic Reforms” Act was passed and enforced in July 1992 by first Nawaz Sharif government. Certain sections of Act diluted the regulatory function of central bank with regards the transfer of money from abroad into bank accounts and transfer out of the country. Moreover, deposits in foreign currency accounts were exempted from the levy of income and wealth taxes and Zakat deductions.
Money laundering through legal and illegal means not only drained out precious foreign exchange out of the country but also proved one of the two lethal factors for putting Pakistan on greylist in June 2018. The track record of NAB in high profile money laundering cases is far from satisfactory due to weak investigation process to build up cases and hiring public prosecutors who are not perfect match of the defence lawyers. Let us wait for the final outcome of these cases.
