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ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has decided not to appear in court during today’s hearing on two NAB references. Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz will also not be able to appear in court.
According to details, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz were to appear before the NAB in the case of assets in excess of NAB’s income, however, the Prime Minister will not be able to appear before the court due to today’s meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security.
In December 2021, the FIA had submitted the challan against Shehbaz and Hamza before the special court for their alleged involvement in laundering an amount of Rs16 billion in the sugar scam case.
According to the FIA report submitted to the court, the investigation team has “detected 28 benami accounts of the Shehbaz family through which money laundering of Rs16.3bn was committed during 2008-18. The FIA examined the money trail of 17,000 credit transactions.”
The report added that the amount was kept in “hidden accounts” and given to Shehbaz in a personal capacity.
This amount (Rs16 billion) has nothing to do with the sugar business (of the Shehbaz family), it claimed. The money received from the accounts of low-wage employees by Shehbaz was transferred outside Pakistan via hundi/hawala networks, ultimately destined for the beneficial use of his family members, the FIA had alleged.
“Eleven low-paid employees of the Sharif group who ‘held and possessed’ the laundered proceeds on behalf of the principal accused, are found guilty of facilitating money laundering. The three other co-accused of the Sharif group also actively facilitated the money laundering,” the agency had said.