Suleman Shehbaz Sharif given clean chit by Federal Investigation Agency in Rs 16 biln alleged money laundering case
LAHORE, Jan 21 (SABAH): The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Saturday gave a clean chit to Suleman Shehbaz Sharif, son of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in the Rs16 billion alleged money laundering case.
Suleman Shehbaz, who returned to Pakistan earlier in December after four years of self-exile in London, was named in the corruption case registered with the FIA. His father PM Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, and brother Muhammad Hamza Shahbaz Sharif had already been acquitted in the case.
A special court in Lahore granted interim bail to Suleman Shehbaz in the money laundering case on December 23, 2022 against bail bonds worth Rs100,000 after he filed a bail plea stating that the court needed to fulfill legal procedures before declaring him an absconder.
Prior to his return to Pakistan, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) had restrained FIA from arresting him.
During Saturday’s hearing at the special court (central), the investigation agency submitted a supplementary challan, stating Suleman Shehbaz and co-accused Tahir Naqvi were “not found guilty”.
The court was hearing Suleman’s pre-arrest bail plea. However, during the hearing, Advocate Muhammad Amjad Parvez informed the court that Suleman and Naqvi wanted to withdraw their bail pleas submitted earlier. The hearing was adjourned till Feb 4.
A couple of months ago, a special court of Lahore had acquitted PM Shehbaz and his elder son, Hamza Shehbaz, in this case. The FIA had booked Shehbaz and his two sons — Hamza and Suleman — in November 2020 under sections 419, 420, 468, 471, 34 and 109 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, read with section 3/4 of the Anti-Money Laundering Act.
Suleman and another co-suspect had been declared proclaimed offenders by the court for their constant absence from proceedings.
The FIA had booked PM Shehbaz and his sons Hamza and Suleman in November 2020 under sections 419, 420, 468, 471, 34 and 109 of Prevention of Corruption Act and r/w 3/4 of Anti Money Laundering Act.
Arrest warrants had been issued for Suleman. However, in its report submitted to the court, the FIA had stated that the warrants could not be executed since Suleman was not present at his address and had gone abroad.
A trial court had also declared him a proclaimed offender, along with another suspect in a Rs16 billion money laundering case, in July this year.
According to the FIA report, the investigation team “detected 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.”
The report added that the amount was kept in “hidden accounts” and “given to Shehbaz in a personal capacity”.
Also in June 2020, the NAB seized Suleman’s shares amounting to Rs2billion in 16 companies along with cash worth Rs4.1 million held in three bank accounts as well as 10 marlas agricultural land and pieces of land spreading over 209 kanals.
The NAB had also alleged that assets worth Rs3.3b had been identified back then as illegally accumulated by Suleman, his brother Hamza Shehbaz and their father Shehbaz Sharif.
This was after an accountability court in Lahore declared him a proclaimed offender in October 2019 after a NAB prosecutor said the bureau had issued at least six call-up notices to the suspect, but he did not respond and fled the country to avoid investigation.