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Legal questions
The MQM faces four official investigations in the UK. Where do those enquiries stand now? The first, into incitement to violence, relies on a series of televised speeches in which the MQM leader, Altaf Hussain, uses apparently violent language. In many he talks about body bags – the legal question is whether he is encouraging his supporters to put his opponents inside those bags.
The difficulty for the UK authorities is that a failed prosecution would probably lead to violent protests in Karachi. Should the jury reject the case, the embarrassment would be enormous.
All juries are unpredictable. But the outcome of this case would be especially doubtful because the prosecution would be relying on material translated from Urdu to English. The defence would have such scope to cast doubt on the meaning of Altaf Hussain’s words that the outcome would be uncertain.
So what of the enquiry into the murder of Imran Farooq? Technically this is not an MQM investigation, although Altaf Hussain’s nephew has been interviewed in relation to the case.
The British and Pakistani authorities seem to have a very clear and detailed understanding of the murder plot, who ordered it and how it was implemented. With political will that understanding could be turned into admissible evidence – not least by Pakistan granting access to the two main suspects in the case, Mohsin Ali Syed and Mohammed Kashif Khan Kamran. The two men are currently being held illegally by one of Pakistan’s intelligence agencies and would have to be formally arrested before the UK could get access.
A decision to grant access to the UK would need the support not only of Nawaz Sharif but also the ISI which is unlikely to offer anything to the UK without a quid pro quo such as some action against the Baloch leader Harabiyar Mari. Mari has already been put on trial in the UK at the behest of General Musharraf when he was in power. He was cleared of all charges and London will find it very difficult to move against him again.
For as long as the access to the two suspects remains unresolved then, short of a senior MQM insider switching sides and giving evidence against his former comrades, it’s difficult to see how the murder charges can be advanced.
Which leaves the third and fourth investigations – into tax evasion and money laundering, respectively.
MQM insiders freely admit that the party has never paid tax in the UK. They say they calculated that the supportive attitude of the UK Foreign Office and M16 towards the party meant they would never be investigated. And for years they were proved right.
After the murder of Imran Farooq, however, it became more difficult for the UK authorities to turn a blind eye to the MQM’s wrongdoing. There are still some tricky legal issues such as whether Altaf Hussein is formally the leader of the party or not, but there is still good reason to believe that there could be successful prosecutions for tax evasion.
The MQM, it should be said, is relaxed about even the worst-case scenarios in the tax cases because all there is at stake is a fine for non-payment. With its very deep pockets the party will simply be able to buy its way out of the problem.
Which takes us finally to the investigation into money-laundering. The MQM has a considerable property portfolio in London as well as bulging bank accounts, even if the UK authorities have been trying to close some of them down. Altaf Hussain enjoys a very comfortable lifestyle in London despite having no discernible income.
The difficulty for the MQM is that, under UK law, money-laundering suspects have to show how they came in possession of their funds. The onus is not on the prosecution to show that the money was illegally acquired but rather on the defence to prove it was all above board.
The party has tried to deal with this problem by asking various Karachi businessmen to provide letters saying that they donated funds to the party voluntarily. It’s a tactic that can delay the money-laundering enquiry but which cannot frustrate it, as even cursory examinations of the letters reveal them to be unconvincing.
It may be that the UK authorities will eventually succeed with money laundering charges. And money laundering in the UK does carry heavy penalties.
Politically the MQM still has cards to play. Its capacity to bring Karachi to a violent halt may be somewhat diminished but it still frightens the Pakistan and UK governments. And with the Taliban ever more entrenched in the city there are some in the ISI who argue that the MQM should be used to attack the jihadis before it is itself brought down.
As well as its legal difficulties the MQM faces a number of other problems. Its leader is in poor physical shape. The changing demographics of Karachi mean that its political position is weakening. Revelations about its relationships with foreign governments could cause real political damage. And there are internal divisions on both sectarian and organisational lines.
Some MQM leaders in London believe they may be over the worst of the police investigations. Maybe. But they still have to worry about money laundering. After all, Al Capone wasn’t convicted of any of the crimes he was widely assumed to have committed. He eventually faced justice because his accounts weren’t straight.
The MQM faces four official investigations in the UK. Where do those enquiries stand now? The first, into incitement to violence, relies on a series of televised speeches in which the MQM leader, Altaf Hussain, uses apparently violent language. In many he talks about body bags – the legal question is whether he is encouraging his supporters to put his opponents inside those bags.
The difficulty for the UK authorities is that a failed prosecution would probably lead to violent protests in Karachi. Should the jury reject the case, the embarrassment would be enormous.
All juries are unpredictable. But the outcome of this case would be especially doubtful because the prosecution would be relying on material translated from Urdu to English. The defence would have such scope to cast doubt on the meaning of Altaf Hussain’s words that the outcome would be uncertain.
So what of the enquiry into the murder of Imran Farooq? Technically this is not an MQM investigation, although Altaf Hussain’s nephew has been interviewed in relation to the case.
The British and Pakistani authorities seem to have a very clear and detailed understanding of the murder plot, who ordered it and how it was implemented. With political will that understanding could be turned into admissible evidence – not least by Pakistan granting access to the two main suspects in the case, Mohsin Ali Syed and Mohammed Kashif Khan Kamran. The two men are currently being held illegally by one of Pakistan’s intelligence agencies and would have to be formally arrested before the UK could get access.
A decision to grant access to the UK would need the support not only of Nawaz Sharif but also the ISI which is unlikely to offer anything to the UK without a quid pro quo such as some action against the Baloch leader Harabiyar Mari. Mari has already been put on trial in the UK at the behest of General Musharraf when he was in power. He was cleared of all charges and London will find it very difficult to move against him again.
For as long as the access to the two suspects remains unresolved then, short of a senior MQM insider switching sides and giving evidence against his former comrades, it’s difficult to see how the murder charges can be advanced.
Which leaves the third and fourth investigations – into tax evasion and money laundering, respectively.
MQM insiders freely admit that the party has never paid tax in the UK. They say they calculated that the supportive attitude of the UK Foreign Office and M16 towards the party meant they would never be investigated. And for years they were proved right.
After the murder of Imran Farooq, however, it became more difficult for the UK authorities to turn a blind eye to the MQM’s wrongdoing. There are still some tricky legal issues such as whether Altaf Hussein is formally the leader of the party or not, but there is still good reason to believe that there could be successful prosecutions for tax evasion.
The MQM, it should be said, is relaxed about even the worst-case scenarios in the tax cases because all there is at stake is a fine for non-payment. With its very deep pockets the party will simply be able to buy its way out of the problem.
Which takes us finally to the investigation into money-laundering. The MQM has a considerable property portfolio in London as well as bulging bank accounts, even if the UK authorities have been trying to close some of them down. Altaf Hussain enjoys a very comfortable lifestyle in London despite having no discernible income.
The difficulty for the MQM is that, under UK law, money-laundering suspects have to show how they came in possession of their funds. The onus is not on the prosecution to show that the money was illegally acquired but rather on the defence to prove it was all above board.
The party has tried to deal with this problem by asking various Karachi businessmen to provide letters saying that they donated funds to the party voluntarily. It’s a tactic that can delay the money-laundering enquiry but which cannot frustrate it, as even cursory examinations of the letters reveal them to be unconvincing.
It may be that the UK authorities will eventually succeed with money laundering charges. And money laundering in the UK does carry heavy penalties.
Politically the MQM still has cards to play. Its capacity to bring Karachi to a violent halt may be somewhat diminished but it still frightens the Pakistan and UK governments. And with the Taliban ever more entrenched in the city there are some in the ISI who argue that the MQM should be used to attack the jihadis before it is itself brought down.
As well as its legal difficulties the MQM faces a number of other problems. Its leader is in poor physical shape. The changing demographics of Karachi mean that its political position is weakening. Revelations about its relationships with foreign governments could cause real political damage. And there are internal divisions on both sectarian and organisational lines.
Some MQM leaders in London believe they may be over the worst of the police investigations. Maybe. But they still have to worry about money laundering. After all, Al Capone wasn’t convicted of any of the crimes he was widely assumed to have committed. He eventually faced justice because his accounts weren’t straight.
