Accountability court defers Zardari, Faryal Talpur’s indictment

Karachi: The accountability court on Wednesday deferred indictment of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur in money laundering through fake bank accounts case.

The court has accepted exemption pleas of both the accused and postponed the proceedings.

Meanwhile, National Accountability Bureau (NAB) prosecutor has requested the court to indict Asif Ali Zardari and Faryal Talpur, adding that the copies of the reference have already been submitted to the concerned authorities.

Earlier in December 2019, former president Asif Ali Zardari was released on medical grounds after an accountability court in Islamabad issued separate robkars [mandamuses] in the Park Lane Estate Company and the money laundering through fake bank accounts cases against him.

The charges in the latest case centre around allegations Zardari laundered vast sums of money through suspect bank accounts and companies.

NAB is conducting investigations in pursuance of the Supreme Court’s verdict in the money laundering of billions through fake accounts case wherein it forwarded the joint investigation team (JIT) report with directions to investigate and file references.

Zardari has repeatedly dismissed allegations he had a hand in the scheme. Never popular and always shrouded in controversy, Zardari — who was once jailed for 11 years for corruption — stepped down from the president s office in 2013. But he has continued to serve as co-chairman of the opposition PPP.