Lahore court extends bails of Shehbaz and Hamza till August 16 in sugar scam case

(Karachi) A sessions court in Lahore extended the pre-arrest bail of Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) leaders, Shehbaz Sharif and Hamza Shehbaz, in the sugar scandal case until August 16, local media reported on Monday.

The case hearing was conducted by Duty Judge Hamid Hussain. Strict security measures were taken during the appearance of both Shehbaz and Hamza in the court.

During the proceedings, an official of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) submitted an investigation report on the sugar scandal.

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The report stated that Shehbaz and Hamza own Ramzan Sugar Mills, which was used for money laundering.

The report claimed that concrete evidence is available to prove the allegations against the accused. It further said that the PML-N leaders carried out transactions through suspicious bank accounts between 2008 and 2018.

The FIA, in its report, also raised the concern that if the accused are allowed to remain out on bail, it is highly likely that they will use their influence to pressurise key witnesses and tamper records pertaining to the case.

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The report stated that three key facilitators in the case identified as Suleman Shehbaz Sharif, Syed Muhammad Tahir Naqvi and Malik Maqsood Ahmed are absconders and that there is a possibility of Shehbaz and Hamza doing the same as well.

On these grounds, the FIA requested the court to dismiss the pre-arrest bail petitions of the PML-N leaders. However, the court extended the bail of PML-N leaders till August 16.

Earlier, the PML-N leaders decided to appear before the FIA. The Anti-Corruption Circle of the agency directed Shehbaz, who was released from jail after seven months in a NAB case, to appear before the investigation team. He was directed to bring relevant documents.

The former Punjab chief minister is facing allegations of money laundering through Ramazan Sugar Mills and Al Arabiya Sugar Mills. Furthermore, he and his family members have also been accused of Rs25 billion in money laundering, illegal sugar hoarding, and gambling.

The FIA also alleged that the PML-N leaders are not cooperating in the investigation. The FIA sent a questionnaire to Shehbaz Sharif twice but he did not submit a reply. A reminder was also issued to him in January 2021. A team of the FIA also visited the PML-N president when he was in jail but he did not gave satisfactory replies.