UK court orders Pakistan to pay $28.7 million payment to British firm

(Karachi) A high court in the United Kingdom has ordered debiting Rs4.5 billion from the accounts of the Pakistan High Commission in London over non-payment of a penalty by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to the foreign asset recovery firm Broadsheet LLC, local media reported.

As per details, on December 17 the London High Court’s Financial Division had issued a Final Third Party Order for payment to NAB’s former client Broadsheet by December 30 bringing to end a case that has cost Pakistani taxpayers billions of rupees.

British firm Broadsheet was hired by NAB during Pervez Musharraf’s government to trace assets in the UK and USA of more than 200 Pakistanis including generals, politicians, businessmen — Benazir Bhutto, Asif Ali Zardari and Nawaz Sharif as the chief targets.

The firm didn’t recover a single asset of any target anywhere in the world but its litigation against NAB started over the broken contract when the anti-graft watchdog ended its contract in violation of the terms and conditions.

The company had filed a claim with the London High Court on behalf of the company to enforce the payment of the outstanding $22m owed to the firm. Last year, a claim filed with the high court showed that the company has applied for permission to enforce the London court’s judgement that the company should be paid $22m by the government of Pakistan. Broadsheet had also asked for an interest of $4,758 per day to be applied.