FIA probing transfer of billions of rupees from Karachi to NWFP

Lahore, Dec.17 (ANI): The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has detained several people for being involved in a racket to transfer billions of rupees from Karachi to the North West Frontier Province.

After arresting the directors of Khanani and Kalia International (KKI) last month, the FIA on Tuesday detained another market leader Mehboob Moti, Director of the Al-Sahara Exchange Company, in Karachi.

This was not the first time that Mehboob Moti was summoned by the FIA authorities as earlier he had been asked to appear on a few occasions in connection with an enquiry pending with the FIA.

When contacted, Khaliquz Zaman, Deputy Director, FIA Karachi Zone, who is the supervising officer in the KKI case, denied his arrest and said that he was summoned for ascertaining certain aspects of the inquiry pending against him.

However, The News was able to get some facts regarding the probe being carried out against the Al-Sahara Exchange Company by the FIA.

According to sources close to these developments, the FIA authorities have traced huge transactions of Rs.100 million and above originating from anonymous accounts of the Al-Sahara Exchange Company.

The FIA investigators have traced one specific account, which is being maintained in the name of one of the employees of the Al-Sahara Exchange Company. Besides, there are two more accounts in the name of two other employees of the company, through which billions of rupees have been transmitted upcountry.

All these accounts, which have been maintained in the name of employees of the Al-Sahara Exchange Company, are suspected to be undeclared accounts.

The investigators are tight-lipped about the transactions to the upcountry and are only saying that the upcountry means the NWFP.

However, the sources claimed that the destination of many of these transactions were found to be the Northern Areas and for this particular reason the FIA was curious to find out as who were the actual beneficiaries of these reported dubious transactions. (ANI)