In a letter, the agency asked the PTI chief to provide records of membership fee, registered and unregistered organisations and trusts, national and international donors, and annual bank statements. A list of party officials, their CNICs and the names of those who were allowed to operate bank accounts has also been sought. The FIA asked Imran to submit the details within the next 15 days.
Last week, a three-member bench of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) headed by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja had unanimously found that the PTI received prohibited funds from 34 foreign nationals and 351 companies based outside the country.
The commission also declared that 13 ‘unknown’ accounts had been found linked to the party and submissions by Imran were ‘inaccurate and wrong’. The party was issued a show-cause notice after the unanimous verdict was delivered.
Following the verdict, PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif urged the government to take legal action against the PTI chief. “Today, the ECP’s verdict has shown that it is actually him [Imran] who is the biggest thief in history. He knew that he had committed the biggest money laundering. This is the reason he kept demanding the chief election commissioner’s resignation,” the former prime minister had said.