LONDON: The National Crime Agency (NCA) of Britain has arrested a Pakistani ‘politically exposed person’ and his wife over alleged money laundering. The couple was released after interrogation.



Sources said International Corruption Unit of the NCA arrested the Pakistani couple from the Surrey county.

The couple was apprehended for not showing legitimate source of income of £8 million assets.

The Pakistani person, aged over 40 years and his wife aged more than 30 years, were released after interrogation. Further investigation was also underway.

Sources said Pakistani’s National Accountability Bureau and Federal Investigation Agency helped NCA in the investigation.

According to Geo News, the couple was arrested three days ago and the NCA kept them in custody for 36 hours before being released.

Meanwhile, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Accountability Shehzad Akbar while speaking in Geo News programme, “Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath” said the Pakistani person arrested in London was former public office holder in Pakistan.

He fled to London from Pakistan and invested money in London.

Shehzad Akbar went on to say Pakistani government assisted NCA.

Murtaza Ali Shah and Imdad Soomro add:

Although, the NCA didn’t reveal the name of the arrested person, The News has learnt that the arrested man is Farhan Junejo, former private secretary of late Makhdoom Amin Faheem, former federal minister for commerce, who was wanted by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in many cases of money laundering, including a case of corruption in Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP).

Farhan Junejo was appointed as Assistant Commissioner by the Sindh Government in 1990 when his father Nabi Sher Junejo, judge of Anti-Terrorism Court Karachi, was assassinated by terrorists in Karachi. At that time Farhan Junejo was only 20 years old and did not have the required qualification for the post. His name first came to limelight in second tenure of Benazir Bhutto government, 1990-1993, in some land frauds and later he left the country and came back in 2008 and was posted as PS of then Minister Commerce Amin Faheem.

In 2013 the FIA had found evidence of billions of rupees being transferred to accounts abroad that could prove that TDAP officials looted the money. The NCA's International Corruption Unit said it had arrested the man, in his 40s, and his wife, aged in her 30s, in an investigation supported by Pakistan's National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and the FIA.

A trusted source in the FIA said that the arrested person was involved in laundering money worth Rs250 million and the case was unearthed by the FIA three years ago. The money was sent to different destinations to be deposited in five accounts in Dubai, Switzerland, US and Britain.

A report said that the person(s) involved transferred about Rs250 million to Dubai through Hawala/Hundi in various accounts including the largest amounts in UK’s Standard Chartered Bank (SCB). The beneficiaries of all the transfers included the accused and his family.