Ayaan Ali indicted over $500,000 smuggling charges

Award-winning Pakistani fashion model Ayyan Ali was indicted Thursday on charges she tried to smuggle $500,000 in undeclared cash from Islamabad to Dubai, court officials said.

Ali, 22, was arrested in March for allegedly trying to fly out of the Pakistani capital to Dubai with the cash on her person.

She was released on bail in July, and on Thursday she appeared in a Pakistani customs court, where a judge "indicted her over currency smuggling charges," a court official told AFP.

The high-profile model pleaded not guilty, the official added.

If convicted she faces fines, the confiscation of property, and up to ten years in jail.

The judge fixed the next hearing on December 8 and ordered the customs officials to produce witnesses, the official said.

Ali's lawyer Latif Khosa could not be reached for comment with his office saying he was too busy to speak to media.

Ali has been the focus of media attention since March when authorities, working on a tip, nabbed her at the VIP lounge of Islamabad's airport.

Under Pakistani laws, no one can carry over $10,000 on a flight, but authorities found $506,800 tucked in her luggage.

Ali was released on bail in July and her lawyer has said she had no intention to take money outside Pakistan. She has remained mostly tight-lipped during court appearances.

 

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