FIA gets access to Imran Khan’s signatory accounts not declared with ECP

By Muhammad JuniadPublished On 06 Jan 2023

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) teams investigating PTI’s foreign funding have obtained records of two accounts that the party concealed from the Election Commission of Pakistan in violation of the Constitution and the law. Both accounts were opened at the request of PTI Chairman Imran Khan and he was among the people who operated them.

The accounts located at a private sector Islamabad bank were allegedly used for receiving foreign funding, sources told SAMAA TV’s Investigation Unit head Zahid Gishkori.

The development comes a day after the FIA obtained records of four other benami accounts opened in the name of PTI’s employees, Muhammad Arshad, Tahir Iqbal, Muhammad Rafique, and Nauman Afzal. The said employees have reportedly recorded their statements before the FIA officials saying they did not know the source of funding received in their accounts.

The FIA opened a probe into PTI’s foreign funding on Friday almost a week after an ECP ruling established that the PTI received funding from prohibited sources including at least 34 foreign nationals and 351 companies and that it operated benami accounts.

The agency formed five investigation teams to collect data and record statements in various cities. These teams are led by a main team in Islamabad.

Undeclared accounts

A section of the ECP ruling focused on the PTI’s benami and undeclared accounts.

Two of these accounts were opened at a private bank in Islamabad “on the request of Mr. Imran Khan, Chairman PTI with account title of PTI,” a three-member ECP bench wrote in the verdict handed down on August 2.

Sources told that the accounts were opened in 2011 to receive foreign funding.

The PTI at the hearing before the ECP bench claimed that the accounts were unknown to it.

However, the party used the two accounts for transferring funds to its declared accounts.

The ECP in its 70-page ruling provided details of the transfers between one of the two undeclared accounts and a declared account of the PTI key evidence that the PTI and Imran Khan had “full knowledge” of these accounts, according to the ECP.

The PTI received Rs86.890 million in this account and withdrew Rs84.141.

In the other account, the party received $51,750 and all the money was withdrawn.