A banking court has acquitted Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Faryal Talpur and 13 others in the high-profile fake bank accounts case due to a lack of evidence. The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), in its final report, granted a clean chit to the accused, citing insufficient proof.
acording to source the case involved allegations against President Asif Ali Zardari, Faryal Talpur, and others for allegedly opening fake bank accounts and using them for illegal transactions worth billions of rupees.
In 2018, a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) formed by the Supreme Court identified at least 29 fake accounts allegedly used for laundering over PKR 42 billion. In January 2019, the Supreme Court referred the JIT findings and evidence gathered by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for further investigation. The cases were subsequently transferred to a Karachi banking court.
After reviewing the FIA’s investigation and hearing arguments from the state prosecutor, Special Judge Javed Ahmed Khowaja approved the final charge sheet. The court acquitted Faryal Talpur and 14 individuals due to lack of evidence, placing their names in Column 2 of the report, which lists those against whom no actionable evidence exists.
However, the final investigative report named President Zardari, Anwar Majeed, Zain Malik, Hussain Lawai, and others as accused. During an earlier hearing, President Zardari invoked Article 248 of the Constitution, claiming presidential immunity and requesting the court to halt criminal proceedings against him.
The court noted that two accused, Bilal Sheikh and Iqbal Aryan, had passed away during the trial, leading to the closure of cases against them.
Initially, Faryal Talpur was listed as an accused in the interim charge sheet. However, upon her request, her role was thoroughly reviewed. She presented documentation related to her agricultural land transactions, asserting that PKR 30 million attributed to her was a legitimate sugarcane sale transaction with Omni Group’s sugar mills.
The judgment acknowledged that NAB’s investigative report corroborated her claim, confirming that no incriminating evidence was found against her. The court concluded that her submitted documents and evidence were credible.
The court further stated that the final charge sheet reflects comprehensive investigations across multiple forums. It cited lack of substantial evidence, witnesses, and varying levels of involvement as reasons for not pursuing trials against the acquitted individuals.
