Pakistan: Probe reveals Imran withdrew PKR 8 mn from PTI account

Islamabad [Pakistan], September 9 : A Pakistani Federal Investigation Agency probe revealed that the former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan had withdrawn PKR 8 million from his party account, media reports said.
This comes as Imran Khan's party PTI is under the scanner in foreign funding controversy, a document obtained by the FIA from the defunct bank, reveals that the PTI had officially authorized individuals to operate the account.
The probe further said that at least 52 transactions from five bank accounts of Imran Khan's party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) should have been flagged as suspicious, Pakistan's local media outlet The News International reported citing sources close to the investigation.
Further details of the probe show that these include two large withdrawals made by party Chairman Imran Khan amounting to PKR 8 million from a PTI account in March 2013. In fact, the sources also noted that the banks should have generated suspicious transaction reports (STRs) on 52 transactions, made by accounts associated with the PTI as the amount was huge.
Two withdrawals amounting to PKR 8 million were both from PTI's HBL Civic Centre, Islamabad accounts in March 2013. The transaction was validated by Khan using his own national identity card.
The probe also revealed the names of nine individuals who withdrew large amounts of cash from party accounts. Their names and national ID card numbers are being verified by the relevant banks. It moreover discovered the flow of money from out of the country into the PTI accounts, including three remittances traced to the PTI accounts.
Two of those were from Nasir Aziz and Romita Shetty, amounting to USD 25,000 and USD 2,500, respectively, while the third remittance of USD 2,480, was not detected by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), from DIMAIO Ahmad Capital LLC in New York, USA.
The links were further connected to PTI's merchant account under the commercial name Naya Pakistan. Transactions of over PKR 21 million were reported between April and November 2013, as per the sources cited by The News International.
The probe has revealed that money was sent from an account named Wootton Cricket, a Cayman Islands registered offshore firm, owned by Arif Naqvi of the Abraaj Group, to The Insaf Trust account, opened by PTI Chairman Imran Khan's close friend, Tariq Shafi, in his capacity as the first chairman of the trust.
Shafi also received USD 575,000 in one of his personal accounts and transferred it to a declared account of the PTI.
On Friday last week, Shafi was interrogated by the FIA investigation team in Lahore. Shafi told the investigating officers that he did not know Arif Naqvi and was not aware of transfers to his personal accounts or accounts of the Insaf Trust.
In its unanimous verdict on August 2, the Election Commission of Pakistan ruled that the party received funds from 351 businesses including business tycoon Arif Naqvi and 34 foreign nationals. The donations were sent from America, Australia, Canada, and the UAE.