PML-Q leader tells FIA he doesn’t know Nawaz Bhatti

LAHORE   -   The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) probe into Punjab Assembly speaker’s son and PML-Q leader, Moonis Elahi’s money laundering case has disclosed that alleged straw man Nawaz Bhatti was a signatory of 32 bank accounts with a credit income of nearly Rs24 billion.

But Moonis has denied any links to alleged straw man Bhatti and Mazhar Abbas. As per FIA, Moonis allowed him to borrow their identities to set up the Rahim Yar Khan Sugar Mills Ltd from his allegedly ill-gotten wealth. Earlier this month, The FIA had registered a money laundering case against the former federal minister and others in a case pertaining to his alleged involvement in a scam to the tune of Rs720 million.

The probe agency had also arrested Bhatti and Abbas on the charges that the two men used to facilitate the PML-Q leader to embezzle money.

According to the investigation agency’s FIR, the case against Moonis was registered on June 14 under Sections 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of a common intention), 109 (punishment for abetment), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) and 471 (using a genuine forged document) of the Pakistan Penal Code, read with Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947 and Section 4 of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2010.

The FIA had also accused Moonis of using ‘hundi’ to transfer money out of Pakistan, saying it had “solid evidence” against the former minister.

In his response submitted on Thursday to the 33 questions asked by the agency, Moonis has claimed that he did not know Bhatti and Abbas. He also maintained that he had no knowledge of whether he or his family had helped Abbas secure his job. He further denied knowing that the two held shares in the RYK Sugar Mills and if he had provided any financial assistance to them. The PML-Q leader further denied using the influence of his father — former Punjab chief minister Parvez Elahi — to secure a no-objection certificate for setting up the RYK Sugar Mills. To a question on the facts of the case indicating that an orchestrated scheme was employed to disguise the beneficiaries of the Rahim Yar Khan Sugar Mills, Moonis said the allegation was “incorrect and misconceived” as all his shares were “duly declared”. The FIR had said its Anti-Corruption Circle in Lahore registered an inquiry on August 7, 2020 pursuant to a report of the Sugar Inquiry Commission 2020. It had added that in light of the report, the FIA was mandated by the federal government to probe financial and corporate frauds committed by various sugar mills, including the Rahim Yar Khan Sugar Mills.

“During the ongoing investigation against Rahim Yar Khan/Alliance Sugar Mills Group, it transpired that the following low-profile individuals — one of them had been at a very low level at the time — had jointly set up Rahim Yar Khan Sugar Mills Limited in 2007/2008 at Rahim Yar Khan,” the FIR had said. It had added that the mill was “set up ostensibly by laundering funds from unexplained sources, including proceeds of financial crimes”.

It further said that the mill’s capital increased by Rs720 million in 2008 but the source for these funds, as well as those required for the acquisition of land, import of plants and machinery and administrative expenses, remained “unexplained”.