KARACHI: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has seized 29 properties of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) charity wing, Khidmat-e-Khalq Foundation (KKF). The net worth of these properties is said to be Rs 3.5 billion.
The FIA seized 29 properties of the charity wing, saying they were established with extortion money.
The investigation agency said money collected through donations was being sent to London with the help of six different facilitators. Besides, an amount of money was also being given to families of martyrs of the party from the donations.
‘We’ve not yet stopped dispensation of money to heirs of the martyrs,’ the FIA said.
“The facilitators who sent money to London included Babar Ghauri and Sohail Mansoor. Transactions were also made under fake names to send the money abroad”, revealed the investigation.
The anti-terrorism wing of the FIA is further probing the matter.
In Nov 2018, the FIA had released a list of 726 suspects, including Mayor Karachi Waseem Akhtar, involved in money laundering through KKF.
Mayor Karachi Waseem Akhtar, Qamar Mansoor, Ashfaque Mangi, Tanveer-ul-Haq Thanvi and other important names were listed among the culprits.
As per investigations of the FIA, more than 50 MQM leaders were involved in illegal transfer of money. The FIA had cautioned that suspected MQM leaders will be nabbed immediately, as the probe reaches its final phase.
The government had sought information from the relevant countries in this regard and a lawyer, Barrister Toby Codman, has been appointed by the federal government in the UK.
Published in Daily Times, January 4th 2019.
