Vital Group accused of money laundering worth billions of rupees

BAHAWALPUR: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has completed an inquiry against The Vital Group over its alleged involvement in money laundering amounting to billions of rupees.

FIA CBC Bahawalpur Circle registered the first information report (FIR) against the company, manufacturer of renowned Vital Tea, in 2023 following the completion of the inquiry. However, the agency failed any accused.

The inquiry, which started against Eastern Products (PVT) Ltd, a subsidiary company of The Vital Group in 2022, concluded that the said company was involved in the illegal transfer of foreign exchange remittances of Rs1.801 billion.

The report named 20 beneficiaries for their involvement in money laundering, which includes the Director, Shareholders, and family members, of the director/owners of the company.

According to the document available with Daily Ausaf, the alleged Muhammad Ijaz Ul Haq, a Director/Shareholder of Eastern Products (Pvt.) Ltd. received an amount of US$ 199,929.50 as foreign remittances from Bahrain during 2015/2016 in his personal foreign currency accounts.

The three major facilitators of suspicious foreign transactions are Asif Aman Ullah, Khalid Jave,d and Bilal Razzaq who arranged fake remittances of Rs. 1.12 billion, Rs. 507.65 million, and Rs. 48.10 million respectively.

The competent authority registered the case under section 23 of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act 1947 against the abovementioned accused persons.

The role of the other associates, beneficiaries, and facilitators will be determined during the course of the investigation, the FIR said.

As the FIA concluded the inquiry accusing Vital Group of fraudulent financial activities, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and other tax departments failed to take any legal action against the accused.

Even after the FIR, the authorities failed to arrest the accused, which Daily Ausaf learned was due to their affiliation with political personalities.

The questions raised on the FIA’s performance as the investigation was delayed for a year now and a transparent audit has not been conducted yet to hold Vital Group financially accountable.

Sources told Daily Ausaf that the company has invested billions of rupees in politicians to hide its financial irregularities. Ijazul Haq and other big political figures benefited from Vital Group, sources said.