Rs10bn suit against Khawaja Asif: IK denies allegations against SKMT’s financial affairs

ISLAMABAD: PTI Chairman Imran Khan on Saturday denied sending funds abroad via money laundering while testifying before an Islamabad district and sessions court in a Rs10 billion damages suit he had filed against Defence Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif for allegations regarding Shaukat Khanam Memorial Trust’s (SKMT) financial affairs.

Imran had filed the defamation suit against Asif in 2012 for recovery of Rs10 billion, as the latter had levelled allegations of misappropriation of SKMT funds, claiming that $4.5 million funds of SKMT’s funds had been invested abroad.

In his suit, the PTI chief referred to the August 1, 2012 presser during which the PML-N stalwart had accused Imran of lost in “real estate gambling” a huge amount of funds donated to the SKMT in the form of Zakat, Fitrana, or other kinds of donations.

In Dec 2021, Imran, while recording his statement before the digitally connected court, said he was the biggest individual donor of the SKMT from 1991 to 2009 and the investments — against which allegations had been made — were fully recovered by the SKMT without any loss.

Terming the allegations “false and defamatory”, Imran had asserted that decisions on the SKMT hospital’s investment schemes were made by an expert committee without his interference.

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Asif had then challenged the legality of Imran’s statement in the Islamabad High Court (IHC), arguing that the additional district and sessions judge had unilaterally closed his right to Imran’s cross-examination. The petition had requested the IHC to set aside the judge’s order.

In January 2023, a local court had imposed a Rs10,000 fine on both politicians for delaying the proceedings and leaving the case unconcluded even after 11 years while it was supposed to be decided within 90 days, according to additional district and sessions judge (ADSJ) Umeed Ali Baloch.

ADSJ Baloch presided over today’s hearing while Haider Rasool Mirza appeared as Asif’s counsel and Waleed Iqbal was present to represent Imran.

The hearing

At the outset of the proceeding, when Asif’s counsel began questioning the PTI chief, the latter acknowledged that “an investment of $3 million was done in 2008” but said “the investment amount was returned to Shaukat Khanum [Memorial Trust] in 2015”.

Imran added, “The $3m amount remained in the possession of HBG Group, whose chief executive is Imtiaz Hyderi, for seven years. Imtiaz Hyderi was included in the committee that accepted the $3m amount for investment.”

He claimed that Hyderi had not accepted the investment for “personal gains”.

The PTI chief said, “The investment was discussed in the board meeting. When Khawaja Asif was sent the legal notice, the investment amount had not been returned.”

He further said, “Imtiaz Hyderi has remained Shaukat Khanum Hospital’s (SKH) donor for the past 16 years. I do not know if Imtiaz Hyderi was the PTI’s donor as well or not”.

The former premier continued, “Numerous overseas Pakistani give donations for Shaukat Khanum Hospital. I did not misguide the court about Imtiaz Hyderi’s character.”

Imran denied remembering anyone named Sheikh Saleem Almashani, upon which Asif’s counsel said the PTI chief had written the name in the compensation notice, adding that Almashani “lives in Oman and is Imtiaz Hyderi’s partner”.

In response, the PTI chief said, “I do not know about Oman’s project. The hospital’s Board of Governors passed the acceptance. I do not know how much investment was done. I do not know what is happening in the Oman project.

“I do not know when the Endowment Fund Board was made. I only know that it was established in the 90s.”

To this, Asif’s counsel said, “But in the Board of Governors’ meeting in 2005, you had said ‘the Endowment Fund Board has not been made yet.’”

He asked if Imran knew about “investment in offshore companies”, to which the latter responded he did not know about SKH’s “decisions” and that the hospital board does not consult him before taking decisions.

“I have now come to know that SKH’s money has been invested in two offshore companies,” Imran claimed, adding that as far as he knew, “there had only been profit from the SKH investments”.

The PTI chief endorsed SKH records while admitting that the investment was done on the basis of an arrangement where profits were to go to the SKH while losses would be borne by Hyderi. Asif’s counsel remarked that the “same happens in Ponzi schemes as well”, to which Imran replied that SKH investments were not a Ponzi scheme as they got their money back.

When Asif’s counsel reminded the former premier that the investments were mentioned in the bank notice, Imran responded he did not know about the investment, its profit and loss, or even when the investment was made.

“I am not an economic expert. The economic experts in the Board of Governors oversee these matters,” he asserted.

Imran also discussed a Financial Times story from last year which had claimed how funds collected through charity cricket matches were used for the rise of PTI.

The report had alleged that fees were paid to Wootton Cricket Ltd, which, despite the name, was in fact a Cayman Islands-incorporated company owned by Abraaj Group founder Arif Naqvi and the money was used to bankroll the PTI.

“I had participated in the Wootton T20 Cup for donations,” Imran said during the cross-examination today. “The dinner was not organised by the Wootton Cricket Club. I just know that Arif Naqvi organised a dinner for the PTI.

“This (FT) article was against Arif Naqvi, which is why we did not send the newspaper a legal notice,” he added.

Upon being asked if he had filed the case against Khawaja “on a personal basis”, Imran replied in the affirmative.

Asif’s lawyer proceeded to ask, “What if I say that the $3m were sent abroad through money laundering and then repatriated seven years later?”

The former premier asserted that “more than 40pc of the donations received by the SKH are from abroad”. “It is false to say that the SKH’s money was sent abroad via money laundering. The SKH got the $3m back through Imtiaz Hyderi’s company in 2015.”

At one point during the hearing, addressing ADSJ Baloch, Imran said, “SKMT is the biggest organisation [that is run on donations]. I am the biggest donation collector in Pakistan. Khawaja Asif’s allegations against me are baseless.”

“If you cast suspicions on donations, the donations would stop. I want to save the SKMT. PTI is the only [political] party that is run on donations. Khawaja Asif targeted Shaukat Khanum’s donations and my identity.”

Following the cross-examination of Imran, the judge adjourned the hearing till March 4.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023