Money laundering case: Shehbaz to be indicted on Nov 11
An accountability court in Lahore has decided to indict PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif and his family members in a money laundering case on November 11.
NAB has filed a reference against Shehbaz on what it says is the “accumulation of disproportionate assets through money laundering and dishonest means to the tune of Rs7.3 billion” which is being referred to as the money laundering case.
On Monday, Shehbaz and his son Hamza Shahbaz were presented in court. A list of all approvers and their statements were submitted.
A NAB team arrested him from outside the courtroom after the Lahore High Court rejected his bail petition in the case on September 28. He is currently being kept in Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat Jail on judicial remand.
Money laundering case
NAB has accused him of laundering money and owning more assets than his known sources of income
The evidence collected revealed that Shehbaz and his sons Hamza Shahbaz and Suleman Shahbaz and wife Nusrat Shahbaz had net assets of Rs14.8 million in 1998, according to the accountability bureau.
Shehbaz in “connivance with his other family members/benamidars accumulated assets to the tune of Rs7,328 million till 2018”.
The amount is “disproportionate to known sources of income and for which neither the accused nor his other family members/benamidars could reasonably account for.”
The bureau said that Shehbaz was given a questionnaire on October 3 in which he was asked to provide the source of funds for the acquisition of four apartments in the United Kingdom from 2005 to 2010, and the source of funds to pay monthly installments from 2005 to 2020. NAB claimed that Shehbaz has “avoided all the questions posed to him regarding foreign assets and remained utterly non-cooperative.
“Despite the disposal of three flats till the year 2018, private unsecured loan of GBP 263,130 still appears as his liability, however, accused restrained to provide any source of this private unsecured loan and no record has been provided.”
NAB also said Shehbaz has not provided any record in respect to his business, income, or the employees who have been managing the business on his behalf.
He was given another questionnaire on October 12 about his family settlement, dated January 1, 2009, over the sale of 106 kanals to Bahria Town Lahore in 2018. They also asked him about his relationship with Afzaal Bhatti and the payment of monthly installments of foreign assets by Suleman Shahbaz. The “accused has not provided any response to the said questionnaire.”
Shehbaz’s lawyer had, however, argued that a reference has been filed and investigation completed, adding that all questionnaires mentioned by NAB have been answered too.
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