Arrest warrant issued for former Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari in money laundering case

A banking court here on Friday issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against former President and PPP co-chairman Asif Zardari in a multi-billion money laundering scam, the media reported.

The court directed the authorities to present Zardari and other suspects before it by September 4. However, Pakistan Peoples Party spokesperson Farhatullah Babar issued a statement citing Zardari's counsel Farooq Naek as saying that no warrant against the leader was issued, Dawn online reported.

The Federal Investigation Agency is investigating 32 people, including Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur, in relation to money laundering from fictitious accounts. Zardari's close aide Hussain Lawai was arrested last month in connection with the probe.

The banking court earlier approved an extension in Talpur's interim bail until the next hearing.

The case revolves around a 2015 inquiry into suspicious transactions when 29 "benami" accounts were identified -- 16 of them in the Summit Bank, eight in the Sindh Bank and five in the United Bank Limited.

The fake accounts were allegedly used for channeling funds received in the form of heavy bribes and kickbacks.

Zardari and Talpur, among others, were said to be involved in using certain bank accounts for suspicious transactions totaling Rs 35 billion.

Hussain Lawai, former chairman of the Pakistan Stock Exchange and a close aide of Zardari, Omni Group of Companies chairman Khawaja Anvar Majeed and his brother Ghani Majeed along with co-accused Taha Raza -- head of the Summit Bank's corporate unit -- have already been arrested in the case.