KARACHI   -  A banking court on Friday directed the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to approach the Supreme Court with the plea seeking permission of four detained suspect bankers and businessmen including, Hussain Lawai and Taha Raza, Anwar Majeed and Abdul Ghani Majeed to probe pertaining money laundering case inside the prison.

Banking court judge Tariq Mehmood Khoso has disposed of the plea filed by the FIA seeking permission probing the suspects in prison with the direction to file a plea to the apex court.

Earlier, the court had reserved his verdict after hearing concluding arguments from both the sides.

Ex-chairman of the Pakistan Stock Exchange Hussain Lawai, Taha Raza, Anwar Majeed and Abdul Ghani Majeed have been detained over their alleged involvement in facilitating around 29 ‘fake’ bank accounts and money laundering of Rs4.14 billion.

Former president Asif Ali Zardari, his sister Faryal Talpur, Zain Malik, the son-in-law of real estate tycoon Malik Riaz, along with 14 other bankers and businessmen have also been booked in the same case.

On November 13, the FIA submitted an application pleaded to allow joint investigation team probing into an alleged case of money laundering through fake bank accounts, to grill four detained bankers and businessmen in jail.

In his concluding arguments, FIA prosecutor had contended that the four suspects were needed to be reinvestigated for the sake of further evidences and information.

The prosecutor maintained that the apex court had constituted a JIT, which intended to interrogate the accused and confront them on the record available with the investigators. The prosecutor pleaded to allow the investigators to interrogate them inside the prison.

However, the defence counsel Shaukat Hayat had opposed the FIA’s plea arguing that his clients had been in the custody of the investigation team and the investigation has already been concluded, therefore no further investigation is required to be done. He pleaded to dismiss FIA’s application.

Aayat had contended that the FIA still failed to submit final chalan and adopted delay tactics.

Lawai, accused of facilitating the opening of 29 ‘fake’ accounts in Summit Bank, Sindh Bank and United Bank Limited to launder money amounting to Rs35 billion.