Pakistan: Court grants bail to Chaudhry Parvez Elahi in money laundering case

Islamabad [Pakistan], July 12 : A local court in Lahore on Tuesday ordered the release of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) President Chaudhry Parvez Elahi, Pakistan-based Geo News reported. Elahi was released on bail in the money laundering case filed by Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) against him. 

A special court passed the order on the bail application of Chaudhry Parvez Elahi. The court directed Elahi to submit a surety bond of Pakistani Rupees (PKR) 500,000 against the bail. Former Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi was arrested by the FIA for alleged money laundering. 

Judge Aslam Gondal of the Banking Offenses Court announced the verdict, Geo News reported. He questioned the FIA for having a non-cooperation attitude. Judge noted that FIA did not present the record despite the issuance of the court's order. 

The FIA had lodged a case against Chaudhry Parvez Elahi and his son on charges of money laundering and suspicious transactions carried out on June 20, as per the Geo News report. He was taken into custody on June 21 and was subsequently sent to prison on a 14-day judicial remand. 

Initially, Elahi was arrested on June 1 in a graft case amid a crackdown on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) after the protests on May 9. He was re-arrested multiple times after the arrest in different cases, including the two money laundering cases. 

In the hearing of his bail plea in Lahore High Court, Chaudhry Parvez Elahi had requested the court to grant him bail like former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and PTI Vice-Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Geo News reported. 

Earlier on June 26, Chaudhry Parvez Elahi was sent to 14-day judicial remand by a Lahore district court in connection with a money laundering case, Dawn reported. His remand came hours after the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) arrested him from outside the Camp Jail in the city. 

The FIA said a case was registered against a woman identified as Saira Anwar in February wherein the suspect was accused of accumulating assets through "crime proceeds". In a plea submitted to the court, the FIA alleged that Elahi handed over PKR 50 million to Anwar through his frontman, Muhammad Zaman for money laundering, Dawn reported. 

The FIA submitted the same plea before the court seeking the 14-day physical remand of Elahi, who was granted post-arrest bail in another money laundering case two days ago but was not released.  

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