Bulletins 1200 3rd July 2017

ISLAMABAD: Security Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) Director Maheen Fatima made startling revelations in her statement to Federal Investigation Agency (FIA)’s team formed in compliance with Supreme Court orders for probing record tempering allegations by Panamagate Joint Investigation Team (JIT), ARY News reported on Monday.

Fatima has accused the SECP chairman of exerting intense pressure on her to blame the Panamagate JIT of misbehaving with her during an interrogation session.

In her statement to FIA on June 30, she asserted that the money laundering investigation against Chaudhry Sugar Mills was closed on the chairman’s directives.

The director has further accused the chairman of threatening her with dire consequences including transfer to Gilgit-Baltistan on defiance of his orders.

The FIA will submit its report today (Monday) pertaining to tempering in Chaudhry Sugar Mills’ record by the SECP.

The Panamagate JIT had previously complained to the top court that SECP had allegedly tampered with the record, apparently to favour the Sharif family who owns Chaudhry Sugar Mills. The court had then formed a team of the FIA to probe into the allegations.

Record tampering controversy deepened when SECP claimed it had closed the probe against Chaudhry Sugar Mills in 2013 on money laundering charges, before the PML-N came to power, but signatures on the documents showed the inquiry was closed in 2016.