LAHORE: A special court in Lahore extended on saturday bail of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his son Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz until June 11 in 16 billion rupees money laundering case filed against their Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).
However, the presiding judge of Special Court (Central-I), Ijaz Hassan Awan, issued without bail arrest guarantees for Suleman Shahbaz and two others in The thing is, they weren’t. The hearing was subsequently rescheduled for June 11.
At the beginning of hearing on The FIA told the court on Saturday that the agency wanted to arrest Prime Minister Shehbaz and CM Hamza. An FIA lawyer argued that the duo “was not part of of investigation”; however, Hamza counsel dismissed the claims, blaming the agency of misleading the court because “the two were part of of investigations.”
In their reasoning counsel for Shehbaz Sharif and Hamza Shehbaz, Mohammad Amjad Perwaiz said the investigation is ongoing. on for in last one-i-a-half years, and the FIA was unable to provide any evidence against his clients. When Amjad Pervez began to state his arguments for in confirmation of pledge in in money laundering case, both PMLN leaders left court. counsel emphasized that the FIA questioned father-son duet when both of they were in jail.
The judge ordered all other interested parties to submit their arguments to the next hearing directing the FIA to file a report on non-collateral warrants against Suleman Shahbaz, Tahir Naqvi and Malik Maqsood.
On the other hand, during the trial in Ramzan Sugar Mills and Ashiyana Housing cases filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in en accountability court, Prime Minister Shahbaz asked the judge to present the arguments himself and demanded time for It.
During the court session, the prosecutor Asadulla Malik presented witnesses. who submitted documents related to corruption cases while SSP Legal Lahore Police was looking for more time from court to presentation complete records. After hearing all the arguments, the hearing was adjourned until 20 June. worth mentioning that Shehbaz already was accused in Ashiyana Housing Handbook. According to the FIA report submitted to the court, the investigation team “discovered 28 benami accounts of Shehbaz family through which money laundering of In 2008-2018, Rs 16.3 billion was allocated. FIA checked money drag of 17,000 credit transactions.”
Report added what amount kept in “hidden accounts” and handed over to Shehbaz in personal capacity.
This amount (16 billion rupees) has nothing to do with sugar business (of Shehbaz family), he said. money received from accounts of low-paid workers Shahbaz was transferred outside Pakistan via hundi/hawala networks, ultimately intended for useful use of his family members, as claimed by the FIA.
“Eleven underpaid employees of Sharif group who “held and owned” laundered proceeds on on behalf of of main defendants, found guilty of assistance money laundering. Three other co-defendants of Sharif group also actively promoted money laundering,” the agency said in a statement.
