The Pakistan government has written to Interpol to issue Red Notices, leading to the arrest of Farhat Shahzadi alias Farah Gogi in a money laundering case, The Friday Times has learnt.
The government argues that the money laundering is connected to former prime minister Imran Khan.
Gogi was booked by the Federal Investigation Agency's (FIA) Anti-Money Laundering Circle in Lahore in February. She was booked under sections 3 and 4 Anti-Money Laundering Act 2010 (amended 2020).
A senior official from the Ministry of Interior confirmed to The Friday Times that the ministry's additional secretary (the relevant government official authorized) had approved the dispatch of a formal request to Interpol for issuing red notices against Gogi.
"FIA must send a complete case to Interpol," the official directed FIA.
Subsequently, the FIA conducted an in-depth enquiry to gauge its legal and technical strength, after which the agency filed an application with the Interpol Secretariat in Lyon, France, for issuing the notice.
What is the money laundering case against Farah Gogi?
Investigations by the Punjab Anti-Corruption Establishment and subsequently an enquiry by the FIA AML Circle into activities of Gogi and the management of the Faisalabad Industrial Estate Development and Management Company (FIEDMC) found that an industrial plot measuring 10.5 acres had allegedly been illegally allotted to M/s Al-Muez Dairy & Foods (Private) Limited in the M3 Faisalabad Industrial Zone in 2021. This enquiry was launched on May 31, 2022.
Gogi, being the owner of Al-Muez Dairy & Foods (Pvt.) Limited was the direct beneficiary of this allotment.
Further, it was discovered that the land was valued at Rs600 million, but it was allotted at a substantially subsidized rate of Rs83 million.
A second enquiry, which was also launched on May 31, 2022, accused Gogi of receiving bribes through her frontmen to influence the then Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar into making transfers/postings on key posts across the province. The posts over which transfers and postings were made included District Police Officers (DPOs), Deputy Commissioners, and Regional Police Officers (RPOs), among others.
Moreover, a complaint was received against Gogi for allegedly influencing Mudassir Jinnah, who was then an executive engineer in Sheikhupura's Local Government department, into illegally awarding a tender worth Rs80 million.
Sources within the FIA and ACE alleged that Gogi had received kickbacks in the award of the tender.
In view of these enquiries and complaints, the FIA concluded there were reasonable grounds to believe that she had accumulated or benefited from the proceeds of the listed crimes.
How Farah Gogi laundered her money?
During their enquiries, FIA officials claimed to have uncovered the network Gogi used to launder her ill-gotten money.
The biggest evidence of this, officials said, was found in suspicious financial transactions in her various bank accounts.
One such suspicious financial activity, officials said, was even reported by the Financial Monitoring Unit (FMU).
As per the report, huge sums of money were deposited into Gogi's accounts between 2019-2022. These deposits, however, did not match up with her declared sources of income.
Following is the detail of the bank accounts of Farhat Shehzadi Alias Farah Gogi:
A senior investigator probing the case told The Friday Times that most of the money landing in her bank accounts were cash deposits made by different individuals.
Following is the detail of cash deposits into the bank accounts of Farhat Shahzadi:
"These inexplicable cash deposits are highly suspected to be crime proceeds accumulated by the accused Farhat Shehzadi through corruption and bribery/kickbacks as reported by the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) Punjab," stated the official. The official refused to give his name because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
Further, Gogi's tax records show that her declared assets had increased manifold between 2018-2021.
Authorities suspect Gogi accumulated these assets using proceeds from her alleged criminal activities between 2019-2021.
Officials said that a complete money trail and details of assets she had accumulated through alleged crime proceeds would be established during the investigation. Moreover, the role of other suspect individuals and companies involved shall also be determined during the investigation.
Subsequently, the government has authorized registering a case against Gogi under Sections 3 and 4 of the Anti-Money Laundering Act 2010.
FIA AML Lahore Circle Assistant Director Sheraz Umer will be leading investigations against Farah Gogi.
What happens after Gogi is arrested?
Sources from FIA and ACE told The Friday Times that once Farah Gogi is arrested through Interpol, she will be brought back to Pakistan and questioned about her alleged nexus between former Punjab chief minister Sardar Usman Khan Buzdar and former first lady Bushra Bibi (wife of former premier Imran Khan).
"More arrests are likely to be made in the light of Gogi's confession, and it is likely that her arrest would expose even bigger names who helped her in making a fortune for herself and building an empire during PTI's tenure allegedly through money laundering, taking bribes and kickbacks," the official said.
The government argues that the money laundering is connected to former prime minister Imran Khan.
Gogi was booked by the Federal Investigation Agency's (FIA) Anti-Money Laundering Circle in Lahore in February. She was booked under sections 3 and 4 Anti-Money Laundering Act 2010 (amended 2020).
A senior official from the Ministry of Interior confirmed to The Friday Times that the ministry's additional secretary (the relevant government official authorized) had approved the dispatch of a formal request to Interpol for issuing red notices against Gogi.
"FIA must send a complete case to Interpol," the official directed FIA.
Subsequently, the FIA conducted an in-depth enquiry to gauge its legal and technical strength, after which the agency filed an application with the Interpol Secretariat in Lyon, France, for issuing the notice.
What is the money laundering case against Farah Gogi?
Investigations by the Punjab Anti-Corruption Establishment and subsequently an enquiry by the FIA AML Circle into activities of Gogi and the management of the Faisalabad Industrial Estate Development and Management Company (FIEDMC) found that an industrial plot measuring 10.5 acres had allegedly been illegally allotted to M/s Al-Muez Dairy & Foods (Private) Limited in the M3 Faisalabad Industrial Zone in 2021. This enquiry was launched on May 31, 2022.
Gogi, being the owner of Al-Muez Dairy & Foods (Pvt.) Limited was the direct beneficiary of this allotment.
Further, it was discovered that the land was valued at Rs600 million, but it was allotted at a substantially subsidized rate of Rs83 million.
A second enquiry, which was also launched on May 31, 2022, accused Gogi of receiving bribes through her frontmen to influence the then Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar into making transfers/postings on key posts across the province. The posts over which transfers and postings were made included District Police Officers (DPOs), Deputy Commissioners, and Regional Police Officers (RPOs), among others.
Moreover, a complaint was received against Gogi for allegedly influencing Mudassir Jinnah, who was then an executive engineer in Sheikhupura's Local Government department, into illegally awarding a tender worth Rs80 million.
Sources within the FIA and ACE alleged that Gogi had received kickbacks in the award of the tender.
In view of these enquiries and complaints, the FIA concluded there were reasonable grounds to believe that she had accumulated or benefited from the proceeds of the listed crimes.
How Farah Gogi laundered her money?
During their enquiries, FIA officials claimed to have uncovered the network Gogi used to launder her ill-gotten money.
The biggest evidence of this, officials said, was found in suspicious financial transactions in her various bank accounts.
One such suspicious financial activity, officials said, was even reported by the Financial Monitoring Unit (FMU).
As per the report, huge sums of money were deposited into Gogi's accounts between 2019-2022. These deposits, however, did not match up with her declared sources of income.
Following is the detail of the bank accounts of Farhat Shehzadi Alias Farah Gogi:
A senior investigator probing the case told The Friday Times that most of the money landing in her bank accounts were cash deposits made by different individuals.
Following is the detail of cash deposits into the bank accounts of Farhat Shahzadi:
"These inexplicable cash deposits are highly suspected to be crime proceeds accumulated by the accused Farhat Shehzadi through corruption and bribery/kickbacks as reported by the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) Punjab," stated the official. The official refused to give his name because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
Further, Gogi's tax records show that her declared assets had increased manifold between 2018-2021.
Authorities suspect Gogi accumulated these assets using proceeds from her alleged criminal activities between 2019-2021.
Officials said that a complete money trail and details of assets she had accumulated through alleged crime proceeds would be established during the investigation. Moreover, the role of other suspect individuals and companies involved shall also be determined during the investigation.
Subsequently, the government has authorized registering a case against Gogi under Sections 3 and 4 of the Anti-Money Laundering Act 2010.
FIA AML Lahore Circle Assistant Director Sheraz Umer will be leading investigations against Farah Gogi.
What happens after Gogi is arrested?
Sources from FIA and ACE told The Friday Times that once Farah Gogi is arrested through Interpol, she will be brought back to Pakistan and questioned about her alleged nexus between former Punjab chief minister Sardar Usman Khan Buzdar and former first lady Bushra Bibi (wife of former premier Imran Khan).
"More arrests are likely to be made in the light of Gogi's confession, and it is likely that her arrest would expose even bigger names who helped her in making a fortune for herself and building an empire during PTI's tenure allegedly through money laundering, taking bribes and kickbacks," the official said.