PTI prez Parvez sent to 14-day judicial remand in money laundering case

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) President Parvez Elahi was sent to 14-day judicial remand on Monday by a Lahore district court in connection with a money laundering case, Dawn reported. His remand came hours after the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) arrested him from outside the Camp Jail in the city.

The said case was registered against a woman identified as Saira Anwar in February wherein the suspect was accused of accumulating assets through "crime proceeds". In a plea submitted to the court on Monday, the FIA alleged that Elahi handed over Rs 50 million to Anwar via his frontman, Muhammad Zaman for money laundering, Dawn reported. The FIA submitted the same plea before the court on Monday, seeking the 14-day physical remand of Elahi, who was granted post-arrest bail in another money laundering case two days ago but was not released.

The agency told the court it required Elahi's custody to investigate him and obtain documentary evidence. Elahi's counsel opposed the FIA's request and argued that his client had been had been arrested yet again for political reasons. Subsequently, the court reserved its verdict on the FIA plea and later rejected it, sending Elahi on 14-day judicial remand, Dawn reported.

Last week, an anti-corruption court in Lahore approved the post-arrest bail of Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi in a case related to illegal recruitments in Pakistan's Punjab Assembly, Pakistan-based Dawn reported.

Earlier this month, the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) in Gujranwala arrested Elahi on allegations of taking Pakistani Rupees (PKR) 15 million in bribes as the speaker of the provincial assembly for making out-of-merit appointments on grade-17 posts in the provincial assembly. Subsequently, PTI President was sent to jail on judicial remand for 14 days.