The UK police have refunded MQM the seized money. The UK police seized the money when it launched an investigation into money laundering against Altaf Hussain.
The UK police transferred £ 24,000 into Mr. Merchant’s Account, one of the key members of the MQM London. The authorities handed over £ 5,000 cash in AED and PKR currencies.
Mr. Merchant said that the case against Muttahida Quami Movement was a success for his party.
Detail of Monies UK Police Refunded MQM
During the money trail investigation, UK Police found the following money.
- £ 29,000 in Merchant’s London apartment.
- Over £ 167,000 in MQM London office.
- An amount of over £ 289,000 in MQM Chief’s home in London.
Mr. Merchant transferred significant sums of money into Altaf Hussain’s bank account, which he said he sent on his free will.
Many investigation experts close to the UK police were of the view that the money confiscated by the UK police will not be returned to MQM. However, UK police surprisingly refunded MQM by returning all the amount it had seized.
Investigation into the Matter
During the money laundering investigation, UK police arrested six people and interviewed 11 others. The main reason for the return of money was UK police’s inability to find any evidence against MQM’s maestro of money laundering.
Pakistani authorities were clearly not happy with the performance of the UK police. To further probe into the matter, Pakistan authorities formed an investigation team to investigate the financial links between RAW (the Indian spy agency) and MQM.
MQM has long denied its funding received from the RAW. India has also categorically denied all such claims of any connection between it and MQM.
The UK police’s failure to prosecute Altaf Hussain was due to the reason of not using terrorism-related legislation against the MQM. The US has already described Muttahida Quami Movement as Tier 3 terrorist organization. However, Pakistan and the UK still need to categorize the political party into that category.
Another reason or excuse is given the UK police its lack of jurisdiction to investigate the money laundering allegations into Karachi. The UK investigating authorities have also shared the fact they did not get the kind of cooperation they required from the Pakistani authorities.
Mr. Merchant is planning to take a hard stance against the UK police. He wants to recover all the money he invested in fighting the case against him from the British police. Although, the investigation into money laundering is over. The authorities in the UK are still investigating the hate speeches addressed by Muttahida Quami Movement Chief Altaf Hussain.
