Ayyan Ali, the 23-year-old supermodel from Pakistan, was arrested at Islamabad airport on March 14 after facing charges of money laundering. Apparently, the legal limit for the amount that can be carried out of the country is $10,000, but she was caught with $500,000 in her suitcase. Ayyan claimed that she wasn’t aware of this customs rule, and that none of the money was due to illegal money laundering, but rather ‘legitimate proceeds of property sales’.
However, it is usually very clearly listed on the customs form that there is a legal limit to the amount of money that you can take out of, and bring into, the country. Either Ayyan Ali wasn’t reading clearly, or there’s more to the story than we’re being told.
It seems like the prosecutors agreed with us, since they have argued that smuggling money out of Pakistan could lead to a 14-year-old jail term and a heavy fine. Plus, Ayyan’s application for a bail was dismissed at the end of March, which means she’ll be spending some more time at the Adiala jail in Rawalpindi.
However, the main concern [especially from the media] is how Ayyan is being treated in jail, and whether she’s been given any VIP treatment because of her status. Pakistani jails are notorious for treating prisoners with ‘VIP status’, and if Ayyan is getting any special treatment, the PR people for the prison are being very careful not to reveal it. They’ve gone out of their way to confirm that Ayyan is sharing a cell with several other female prisoners, and that she hasn’t received any special treatment at all.
What do you guys think about Ayyan Ali being in prison for possible money laundering? Do you think she’s guilty? And do you think she should get special VIP treatment, or not? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
