LAHORE: An accountability court on Tuesday granted the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) physical remand of Leader of Opposition in National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif for another week in money laundering and illegal assets reference.
The court also issued notice to the NAB and sought its reply on an application on behalf of Nusrat Shehbaz, wife of Shehbaz, for permanent exemption from personal appearance for health reasons. The court sought the personal appearance of a responsible official from the foreign office on October 27 to explain the progress on service of arrest warrants against absconding suspects Suleman and Haroon Yousaf.
The NAB told the court that Shehbaz's wife and two daughters Rabia and Javeria had not joined the investigation so far.
Earlier, a special prosecutor told the court that Shehbaz had not cooperated with the investigators. He said the suspect could not explain his monetary sources for the purchase of flats in the U.K.
He said the suspects claimed that the flats were purchased with money borrowed from different individuals including Aneel Mussart and Ajmal Aasi. The prosecutor said the suspect also concealed information about the sale of 136 kanal lands to Bahria Town in his nomination papers. He claimed that Shehbaz received telegraph transfers (TTs) in his personal accounts.
The prosecutor explained that the TTs were received in the suspect's company's account. He said some records had also been sought from a bank of London. He said custody of the suspect was also required for confrontation with documents relating to multiple transactions with his son Suleman.
Shehbaz denied the allegation and said all the transactions with his son were through a banking channel and added he would not contest the trial if NAB proved any transaction of TT in his name.
Shehbaz told the presiding judge that the issue of food service was resolved in the light of court's direction. However, he complained about the unavailability of a comfortable chair since he had chronic backache. The prosecutor stated that all available facilities were being provided to Shehbaz in the light of his health condition.
The counsel of Shehbaz reiterated that the court would find the bureau's questions baseless once it read the reference. He stated that his client had already responded to the questions of NAB in details. He said 85 percent finances for the purchase of flats were made through the bank's loan. He said registry documents of the land's transaction with the Bahria Town had also been furnished to the bureau. The counsel said the NAB already possessed all the documents and details.
The prosecutor however sought further 14 days remand of Shehbaz to complete the investigation. The court granted NAB physical remand of Shehbaz for one week and directed the investigating officer to complete the investigation by the next hearing on October 20. Hamza Shehbaz was also brought to the court from the jail to attend the hearing of money laundering reference.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020
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