NAB report discloses value of gifts received by Imran, Bushra from MBS

ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) investigation report regarding the value of gifts received by PTI founder Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibifrom Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman (MBS) has come to the fore. In the NAB report, it was revealed that there is no proper system for checking the correct value of gifts in Pakistan as the gifts having worth of Rs3.16 billion were valued at just Rs180 million.

The gifts were kept by the PTI founder and his wife after paying half the amount of Rs90 million, the report said. No institution in Pakistan could ascertain the value of the jewellery set gifted by the Saudi Crown Prince. According to an estimate from Dubai, the treasury suffered a loss of Rs1.57 billion, the report said. A committee of the FBR and Collectorate of Customs expressed its inability to ascertain the value of the gifts. When the Industries and Production Division was contacted for valuation, it said the Gems and Jewellery Development Company was inactive.

The Gems and Jewellery Traders Association could not give an estimate of the value of those gifts and the Pakistan Mineral Development Corporation also said that it could not what the value was.

MLAs were sent to Britain, UAE, Italy and Switzerland but no response was received. Imran Bashir of Embo Ampex FZE has been hired by the Pakistani Consulate General in Dubai. Bashir said the actual value of the gifts was Rs3.16 billion. Imran and his wife could have kept the gifts only by paying Rs1.57 billion.

The NAB report also stated that there was no evidence to support that government officials intentionally undervalued the gifts against financial benefits, due to which government officials were not implicated.