Money laundering case: Ayyan Ali ordered to appear on February 15
A special Customs court on Wednesday upheld non-bailable arrest warrant of model girl Ayyan Ali and directed her to appear in next hearing on February 15 in currency smuggling case.
The court has given the approval to initiate proceedings to declare her absconding in the case. Witnesses have been issued notices too.
The petitions submitted by Ayyan Ali have been dismissed too. She had filed different petitions; including cancelling the non-bailable arrest warrants against her, exempt her from the court hearings, forgiveness in the case and for the case to be disposed of.
The court said that she is being investigated on charges of currency smuggling. The Customs department is responsible for preventing smuggling of foreign currency, it ruled.
On January 18, the model’s lawyer said that she hasn’t been appearing in court because she is afraid she may get arrested again. Customs Prosecutor Amin Feroze said that it has been two years since she last appeared in court. Her lawyer argued that she is scared of being arrested. The lawyer requested the court to cancel the arrest warrants against her.
The non-bailable arrest warrant against Ali was issued on October 22, 2018, after she did not appear in court despite orders. Her lawyer submitted a medical application and requested that she be exempted from appearing because she was sick. The court, however, rejected the plea and issued a non-bailable warrant for the model’s arrest.
Ayyan Ali became the focus of media attention when she was nabbed at the VIP lounge of Benazir Bhutto International Airport in Islamabad in March 2015 on charges of trying to smuggle $506,800 to the United Arab Emirates. She was indicted by the Customs court in November 2015 for attempting to smuggle the money. However, she pleaded not guilty.
