Judgment reserved: Prosecutor says Ayyan may be fined

Rs500m if convicted
By Fawad Ali
Published: March 31, 2015

PHOTO COURTESY SAVVY PR AND EVENTS

RAWALPINDI: Customs prosecutor in Ayaan’s money laundering case said on Tuesday

that if convicted, the supermodel’s crime is so serious that she could be fined Rs500
million for smuggling out Rs50 million and may also get a jail term for 14 years.

Farhat Nawaz Lodhi made these statements before Lahore High Court’s Rawalpindi bench during a
hearing today.

On March 14, customs officials caught the supermodel with $500,000, which she was allegedly
smuggling to Dubai.

Read: Supermodel Ayyan sent to Adiala jail for ‘smuggling’ $500,000

Ayaan had filed a bail application which was taken up by Justice Mehmood Maqbool Bajwa.
During the hearing, Ayyan’s lawyer argued that his client’s intentions were honest and she was
carrying relevant documents when she was travelling from Islamabad to Dubai.

“Women get bail for committing murder and other serious crimes. My client has already served
time in jail and the interrogation has been completed,” Ayaan’s lawyer Sardar Ishaq argued.

Ishaq requested the court to release his client on bail so that she can start a normal life, to which
Lodhi objected, saying the probe was still under way.

Read: A model and her money: Tax officials interrogate Ayyan in jail
Lodhi argued that the money Ayaan was carrying was recovered from her baggage which passed
through scanning machine.

“The money was concealed in a bag under her personal material,” Lodhi said. “Customs
department is still verifying documents provided by her legal team.”

“She committed offences under Customs Act, FOREIGN EXCHANGE  Regulations Act, and
Import Export Control Act,” the prosecutor added.

He went on to say that two mobile phones which were also recovered from Ayaan were locked due
to a pass code.

“If her mobile is locked, the investigators should use technology and skills,” Ayaan’s lawyer shot
back.

Read: Supermodel Ayyan’s father shot and wounded

Lodhi also said the supermodel has visited 40 foreign countries in the past three years.  Ishaq said
there is no bar on foreign visits and his client belongs to the entertainment industry so foreign visits
are commonplace.

After hearing arguments on both sides the judge reserved judgment pertaining to the case.

Talking to reporters, Ishaq said his client is a respected citizen who is jailed with women convicted
of murder, drug smuggling and other notorious crimes. He added that references given by the
Customs prosecutors were irrelevant.