Money Laundering Case: PM Shehbaz, Hamza Shahbaz, other accused acquitted

LAHORE, July 20 (SABAH): An Accountability Court in Lahore has acquitted Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif and his son former Punjab minister Muhammad Hamza Shahbaz Sharif and other accused in money laundering case.

Accountability court judge Qamaruz Zaman on Thursday accepted Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Hamza Shahbaz’s pleas for acquittal in money laundering case where Shehbaz Sharif family and other individuals were accused of money laundering more than Rs7 billion.

The court acquitted Shehbaz Sharif along with all the co-accused, including Hamza Shahbaz, Nusrat Shehbaz (wife), Salman Shehbaz Sharif, Javeria Ali, Muhammad Usman, Masroor Anwar, Shoaib Qamar, Qasim Qayyum, Rashid Karamat, Ali Ahmed and Nisar Ahmed, except for one.

The court, however, issued a perpetual arrest warrant for PM Shehbaz’s daughter Rabia Imran, who had been declared absconder in the case. The accused had filed petitions seeking acquittal, basing their argument on NAB’s inability to present any evidence against them.

The NAB investigators also confirmed that no evidence was found. While announcing the verdict reserved earlier this month, the court said that it had no other choice except to acquit the accused, as NAB has said that it did not have anything against them.

Earlier this month, PM Shehbaz Sharif and his son moved motions in the accountability court for their acquittal in money laundering references filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) during the rule of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.

In their applications filed through Muhammad Amjad Pervaiz, Shehbaz and Hamza have contended that NAB filed a false and fabricated case and that the accountability watchdog has no evidence to prove the case.

They stated that they had declared all their assets—which were acquired through legal means—to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). They requested the accountability court to acquit them from the case.

Last year, a special central court acquitted PM Shehbaz and Hamza Shehbaz in another money laundering case worth Rs16 billion.

The special court judge had reserved the decision after hearing detailed arguments on the acquittal application of both the accused persons. However, after acquitting the aforesaid, the court summoned the rest of the accused for framing of charges in the case.

The anti-graft watchdog had filed the reference for the inquiry underway since 2018, in August 2020, when PM Shehbaz served as the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly. He was arrested by NAB after the Lahore High Court rejected his bail in the case on September 29.

An accountability court indicted the prime minister, Hamza, and others accused after over a month on November 11, 2020 though, the prime minister was released on bail in April 2021.