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<\/p>\nRs16bn money laundering case
\nPM Shehbaz tells court FIA case against him is a \u201cpack of lies\u201d and \u201cwill be buried\u201d
\nLAHORE
\nA special court hearing the Rs16 billion money laundering case filed by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) against Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his son, Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz, on Saturday granted the two pre-arrest bail.
\nPM Shehbaz and Hamza have been asked to pay Rs1 million in bail bonds each within seven days.
\nBail requests of other suspects were also granted, with the court ordering them to pay Rs200,000 in bail bonds within seven days.
\nPM Shehbaz and Hamza were summoned to Special Court (Central-I) today for questioning.
\nEarlier in the day, the court reserved its verdict on all requests for bail, including those by PM Shehbaz and Hamza.
\n\u2018No stake in Ashiana Housing Scheme, Ramzan Sugar Mills\u2019
\nPM Shehbaz, addressing the court, stated: \u201cI am obliged to inform the court of the truth regarding my bail.\u201d
\nHe said that the case by the FIA is identical to that being pursued by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
\n\u201cThe cases against me pertain to the Ashiana [Housing Scheme] and Ramzan Sugar Mills,\u201d said Shehbaz.
\n\u201cYou have no ownership of them?\u201d asked the judge.
\n\u201cI have no stake in either,\u201d PM Shehbaz responded.
\nSpeaking of NAB\u2019s investigation against him, he said that the bureau moved the Supreme Court against him, despite the fact that the Lahore High Court had issued a detailed verdict in the case.
\nHe said that the then chief justice had asked for proof of corruption against him after which NAB \u201cpanicked and fled\u201d.
\nPM Shehbaz, speaking of FIA\u2019s probe, went on to state: \u201cThe FIA visited me twice when I was in NAB detention, but I refused to answer without my attorney\u2019s input.\u201d
\nHe said the FIA was provided with all the facts verbally. \u201cMy cases were decided on their merit, and I emerged clean,\u201d he remarked.
\nThe premier added that a man\u2019s honour is his greatest asset and that \u201csevere\u201d allegations have been made against him.
\n\u201cI faced countless hearings and trials. The FIA was admonished for not presenting a challan. I believe the FIA was preparing for an arrest, hence the challan was delayed,\u201d he added.
\nHe reiterated that he is neither a director nor a stakeholder of the Ramzan Sugar Mills.
\nPM Shehbaz continued: \u201c[All this] harmed the family\u2019s sugar mills. Why would I engage in corruption and money laundering and harm the family business?\u201d
\nHe added that he \u201chad the legal right to grant the business a subsidy\u201d during his term as chief minister.
\n\u201cThe entire case is built on lies and will be buried,\u201d PM Shehbaz said.
\nPM Shehbaz\u2019s counsel digs holes in prosecution
\nFor his part, PM Shehbaz\u2019s attorney Amjad Pervez stated that the fact that Shehbaz Sharif and Hamza Shehbaz had previously been interrogated in jail by the FIA was sufficient proof for their bail and that no further evidence could be presented.
\nShehbaz\u2019s counsel stated that a witness on page 2 of volume 6 did not provide the statement mentioned in the challan.
\nFIA Prosecutor Farooq Bajwa said he seeks to conclude his arguments.
\nThe court asked the FIA if bankers were called as witnesses in the investigation, and the FIA prosecutor said that they were not.
\nHe said: \u201cI would not state anything that is not a part of the records. The entire matter has been presented to the court.\u201d
\n\u201cI will speak in accordance with the law, I will not simply oppose [the defendant] as a prosecutor,\u201d said Bajwa, adding: \u201cI would not engage in such trickery for which I have no explanation.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo cheques dated 2015 and 2013 were deposited into Gulzar\u2019s account,\u201d said the FIA prosecutor elaborating on the \u201cevidence\u201d found.
\nHe said that \u201cthese are political figures\u201d, and that \u201csuch is the evidence collected when such cases are opened\u201d.
\nBajwa said that the FIA\u2019s evidence was \u201cnot ill intentioned\u201d and that as much evidence as possible was collected in the case.
\nAccording to him, suspects Masroor Anwar and Usman were not interrogated.
\nTo this, Pervez said: \u201cThe case has been ongoing for more than a year and now we discover that the suspects were not made part of the inquiry.\u201d
\n\u201cAll this has to be disclosed in the initial hearing,\u201d he added.
\nThe FIA prosecutor responded by saying that that two cheques had been deposited into suspect Gulzar\u2019s account, which is direct evidence.
\n\u201cSo how is this illegal?\u201d the court asked the FIA prosecutor, to which his response was: \u201cThis is something that even the other respondents cannot comment on. No one knows how the cheques were deposited.\u201d
\nPervez said that it must then be examined if depositing a cheque constitutes a crime. \u201cWhat the FIA is saying does not constitute a crime,\u201d he said.
\nThe counsels for both the defense and the prosecution submitted their written arguments to the court.
\nIt is pertinent to mention here that the special court in Lahore had summoned the father-son duo for their indictment in the case in April but it was deferred due to the premier\u2019s foreign engagements.
\nThe case
\nIn December 2021, the FIA had submitted a challan against Shehbaz and Hamza to the special court for their alleged involvement in laundering Rs16 billion in a sugar scam.
\nAccording to the FIA report submitted to the court, the investigation team \u201cdetected 28 benami accounts of the Shehbaz family through which money laundering of Rs16.3bn was committed from 2008-18. The FIA examined a money trail of 17,000 credit transactions.\u201d
\nThe report added that the amount was kept in \u201chidden accounts\u201d and \u201cgiven to Shehbaz in a personal capacity\u201d.
\nThis amount (Rs16 billion) has nothing to do with the sugar business (of Shehbaz\u2019s family), it claimed. The money allegedly received from the accounts of low-wage employees was transferred outside Pakistan via hundi\/hawala networks, ultimately destined for the beneficial use of his family members, the FIA had said.
\n\u201cEleven low-paid employees of the Sharif group who \u2018held and possessed\u2019 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,\u201d the agency had said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Rs16bn money laundering case PM Shehbaz tells court FIA case against him is a \u201cpack of lies\u201d and \u201cwill be buried\u201d LAHORE A special court hearing the Rs16 billion money laundering case filed by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) against Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his son, Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz, on Saturday granted […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":265791,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[439,8444,1635,5822],"class_list":{"0":"post-265768","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news","8":"tag-bail","9":"tag-confirmed","10":"tag-hamza-shehbaz","11":"tag-pm-shehbaz-sharif"},"yoast_head":"\n