ISLAMABAD: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Wednesday arrested Anwar Majeed, former president Asif Ali Zardari’s close aide and the head of Omni Group, from outside the Supreme Court.
Abdul Ghani Majeed was also arrested after the Omni Group head and his four sons appeared before the top court in connection to a case pertaining to money laundering through fake bank accounts.
During the hearing, the bench dismissed the petition of Omni Group counsel, Shahid Hamid, seeking pre-arrest bail for his clients.
As the hearing went under way, Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Mian Saqib Nisar remarked, ” If the FIA wishes, the Majeed family can be taken into custody.”
The Omni Group counsel informed the court that the names of Majeed and Ghani were already on the Exit Control List (ECL).
To this, the chief justice questioned who placed their names on the ECL and DG FIA responded that court orders state that they be barred from travelling abroad.
Majeed’s counsel then contended that he be given time to present his arguments in the case. However, the chief justice remarked, “We will form a joint investigation team and if anyone wants to argue then they can appear before it.”
Justice Nisar also rejected Majeed’s plea to unfreeze his bank accounts.
Directing the Majeed family to appear before the FIA, Justice Nisar observed, “Like Zardari and Faryal Talpur, Majeed family should also be included in the investigations of fake bank accounts.”
The hearing was then adjourned.
On Monday, Justice Nisar had suggested a joint investigation team like the one formed for Panama Papers should be constituted to probe the case of alleged fake bank accounts.
During Monday’s hearing, the head of Omni Group failed to appear in court.
The counsel for Omni Group, Shahid Hamid had requested the apex court to grant three more days to respond to the orders. However, Justice Nisar had rejected the request.
