A special court of Pakistan in Lahore on Saturday summoned Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his son Hamza Shehbaz on Sept 7 for the framing of charges in an exceedingly Rs16 billion money laundering case registered against Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his son Hamza Shehbaz by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).
Court Summons:
They have already been granted pre-arrest bails within the case.
During the hearing today, Shehbaz Sharif and Hamza Shahbaz’s lawyers submitted the requests for a one-time exemption for their sake.
Shehbaz’s attorney Amjad Pervaiz told the court that the premier had been suggested against traveling as he wasn’t well. He was aforesaid that the weather was unpleasant yesterday that is why he didn’t arrive today.
Meanwhile, Hamza’s attorney Rao Aurangzeb aforesaid the PML-N leader had severe back pain and he had attached the report with the exemption request.
FIA prosecuting attorney Farooq Bajwa aforesaid the agency did not have any objections to acceptive the exemption applications.
The FIA conjointly submitted the death certificate of Malik Maqsood — frequently brought up as Maqsood ‘Chaprasi’ — a central figure within the case.
Bajwa aforesaid the agency was submitting the certificate when verification from the National Information and Registration Authority that Maqsood had died.
The court then ceased case proceedings against the deceased.
Separately, the FIA Prosecutor told the court that the agency had obtained the record of nineteen bank accounts of Suleman Shehbaz, whereas the record of another seven was nevertheless to be obtained.
He aforesaid that we’ve got written to some agencies and their replies are hoped-for.
He was conjointly aforesaid that we’ve got submitted details of Suleman’s properties that we’ve got obtained so far.
Subsequently, the court summoned Shehbaz and Hamza on Sept 7 for the framing of charges and adjourned the hearing until that date.
The FIA had reserved Shehbaz and his sons Hamza and Suleman in November month 2020 under sections 419, 420, 468, 471, 34, and 109 of the hindrance of Corruption Act and r/w 3/4 of opposed concealment Act. Suleman Shehbaz is within the United Kingdom and has been declared a fugitive from justice.
Fourteen others have conjointly been named within the FIR under sections 5(2) and 5(3) (criminal misconduct) of the hindrance of the Corruption Act.
Shehbaz and Hamza were antecedently set to be indicted on might fourteen however it absolutely was postponed because the prime minister wasn’t present within the country at the time.
The FIA had in December 2021 submitted the challan against Shehbaz and Hamza to a special court for their alleged involvement in money laundering a quantity of Rs16bn within the sugar scam case.
According to an FIA, report submitted to the court that the investigation team has detected twenty-eight Benami accounts of the Shehbaz family through that concealment of Rs16.3bn was committed throughout 2008-18. The FIA searched the money path of 17,000 credit transactions.
The amount was kept in “hidden accounts” and given to Shehbaz in an exceedingly personal capability, the report added.
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This quantity (Rs16bn) has nothing to do with the sugar business (of the Shehbaz family), it claimed. The money received from the accounts of low-wage workers by Shehbaz was transferred outside the Islamic Republic of Pakistan via hundi/hawala networks, ultimately destined for the use of his family members, the FIA had alleged.
The agency had aforesaid that Eleven low-paid workers of the Sharif group who ‘held and possessed’ the laundered income on behalf of the principal defendant, are found guilty of facilitating money laundering. The 3 alternative co-accused of the Sharif group conjointly actively expedited the money laundering.
