An accountability court of Karachi has ordered to send the money-laundering reference filed against business tycoon Iqbal Z Ahmed and others back to National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Wednesday.

The court announced its verdict on the application of the accused in the Rs28 billion reference.

The court in its decision announced that bail of Iqbal Z Ahmed and other accused will remain on bail unless a reference is filed in the court concerned.

If the accused do not appear at the relevant forum after the notice issued by the concerned court or investigating officer, the bail amount will be forfeited, the court said.

The NAB has admitted that after the amendment in NAB laws, the court does not have the authority to hear the reference.

It may be mentioned here that on December 20, 2023, the Sindh High Court had ordered the transfer of reference from Hyderabad to Karachi accountability court.

Among the other accused named in the reference are Iqbal Z Ahmed's son Raziuddin Ahmed, Asim Iftikhar, Qazi Humayun Farid, Salamat Ali, Muhammad Ramzan and Faseehuddin Ahmed.

According to the NAB, there are allegations of corruption and money laundering of Rs28 billion against the accused.

Reporter: Mumtaz Jamali