An orthopedic surgeon of Pakistani origin pleaded guilty Monday to conspiring to help hide $3.5 million the Pakistani government sent to the United States to covertly lobby lawmakers over the disputed Kashmir region.
Abdul Razaq was one of several "straw donors" used to hide money from Pakistan's military intelligence service to a Washington, D.C.-based group called the Kashmiri American Council (KAC).
KAC founder Ghulam Nabi Fai pleaded guilty in 2011 to conspiracy and tax charges. Prosecutors say the KAC's actions were dictated by Pakistani intelligence.
Razaq, an orthopedic surgeon in La Plata, Md., transferred at least $250,000 to the KAC between 1994 and 2009, using a separate nonprofit, the Society for International Help (SIH). Razaq served on the society's board of directors and transferred another $90,655 to the SIH. Another board member, Zaheer Ahmed, helped facilitate the flow of the Pakistani money through straw donors like Razaq, court papers filed with the plea agreement said.
"Razaq asserted charitable deductions for his transfers to SIH as well as those to KAC, even though he was being reimbursed by Ahmad for at least a portion of his transfers to both organizations," court records said.
For example, Razaq once deducted $15,000 he sent to SIH as a charitable contribution, even though he was reimbursed for the amount in Pakistan.
Fai was sentenced to 24 months in prison in connection with the scheme. His sentence was reduced to 20 months due to his cooperation with the government on other investigations involving Pakistani intelligence money sent to the United States for the Kashmir campaign. "In essence, the information that Fai provided regarding the scheme to route money from the ISI to the KAC (Kashmiri American Council) through straw donors has substantially assisted in the prosecution of other cases that have not been completed," prosecutors wrote last month in a motion to reduce Fai's sentence.
Razaq, 67, faces a maximum of five years in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for July 18.