Islamabad: A Pakistani courtroom docket on Friday declared Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s more youthful son Suleman Shehbaz and every other individual proclaimed offenders in a cash laundering case.
The Lahore Special Court (Central-I) declared Suleman and Tahir Naqvi proclaimed offenders when they did not seem regardless of being summoned, the Dawn newspaper reported.
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had booked Suleman Shehbaz and his sons Hamza and Suleman in November 2020 beneathneath the Prevention of Corruption Act and Anti Money Laundering Act.
Arrest warrants have been issued for Suleman and Naqvi on May 28. At the identical listening to, the courtroom docket had additionally issued arrest warrants for every other suspect, Malik Maqsood alias Maqsood ‘Chaprasi’, who handed away withinside the United Arab Emirates ultimate month.
On June 11, the FIA had submitted a record approximately non-bailable arrest warrants issued for Suleman, Naqvi and Maqsood. In its record, the FIA had said that the warrants couldn’t be finished due to the fact Suleman turned into now no longer gift at his deal with and had long gone abroad.
At Friday’s listening to, the courtroom docket sought information about the houses of Suleman and Naqvi in addition to Maqsood’s loss of life certificate.
The courtroom docket additionally commonplace the request for granting Prime Minister Shehbaz a one-time exemption from attending the listening to however directed that he seem earlier than the courtroom docket at the following listening to.
The listening to turned into eventually adjourned until July 30.
The FIA in December 2021 submitted the challan towards Shehbaz and Hamza to a unique courtroom docket for his or her alleged involvement in laundering an quantity of ₹ sixteen billion withinside the sugar rip-off case.
“The research crew has detected 28 benami money owed of the Shehbaz own circle of relatives via which cash laundering of ₹ sixteen.three bn turned into devoted throughout 2008-18. The FIA tested the cash path of 17,000 credit score transactions,” in line with an FIA record submitted to the courtroom docket.
The quantity turned into saved in “hidden money owed” and given to Shehbaz in a non-public capacity, the record added.
This quantity (Rs sixteen bn) has not anything to do with the sugar business (of the Shehbaz own circle of relatives), it claimed. The cash obtained from the money owed of low-salary personnel through Shehbaz turned into transferred outdoor Pakistan through hundi/hawala networks, in the long run destined for the useful use of his own circle of relatives members, the FIA had alleged.
“Eleven low-paid personnel of the Sharif organization who ‘held and possessed’ the laundered proceeds on behalf of the essential accused, are observed responsible of facilitating cash laundering. The 3 different co-accused of the Sharif organization additionally actively facilitated the cash laundering,” the corporation had said.
