Pakistan probe links Iranian Supreme Leader’s representative to money laundering

Islamabad, April 10 : A money laundering network in Pakistan transferred a “colossal amount” of allegedly illicit funds to Iran, with a representative of the Iranian supreme leader among the recipients, court documents recently submitted by Pakistani investigators show, media reports said.

Investigation reports and WhatsApp chat logs show that members of the network operated between Pakistan, Iran and Iraq over the past seven years, Arab News reported.

“On scrutiny it has come on record that a colossal amount of foreign currency has been remitted in/out of Pakistan vide illegal transactions of hundi/hawala,” a charge sheet dated February 10, 2022, submitted by the Federal Investigation Agency to a court in Karachi, said.

Hawala and hundi are informal ways of transferring cash across borders — both are illegal in Pakistan. FIA documents say that the group also used pilgrims travelling to the cities of Najaf in Iraq and Qom in Iran to smuggle money, Arab News reported.

One of the recipients of the transfers, according to the charge sheet, was Abolfazl Bahauddini, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s former representative to Pakistan, Arab News reported.

The supreme leader appoints representatives to all provinces of Iran, universities, certain government agencies, and also countries, such as Pakistan, where Shia communities are present.

Representatives are expected to promote Khamenei’s value system and theocratic principles through their sermons and public speeches, and also pressure local authorities to accommodate his policies. Their appointment in foreign countries is not officially announced.

According to FIA records, Bahauddini received money from the main suspect in the case, identified as Ali Raza.

Raza was among 13 people arrested during raids in Karachi in January this year, on charges of money laundering and being “associated with a foreign intelligence agency”, Arab News reported.(IANS)