Assets beyond means case: NAB team grills Hamza for three hours

LAHORE: A three-member combined investigation team of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Friday grilled opposition leader in Punjab Assembly Hamza Shahbaz Sharif for about three hours regarding a probe into assets beyond means and money-laundering case.

Sources in the bureau said Hamza failed to satisfy investigators after which he was summoned again on April 16. Hamza Shahbaz, a son of Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) President Shahbaz Sharif, was due at 11am at NAB Thokar Niaz Beg offices. However, he reached an hour late, at about 12 noon. The NAB security didn’t allow Hamza’s staff to enter the bureau building.

It has been learnt that Hamza was asked questions about money trail of his assets. Sources said more than 80 per cent assets of Hamza are based on remittances.

According to sources, Hamza was about his assets which were worth Rs20 million in 2003 but reached over Rs400 million till 2018. Hamza replied that he has different businesses and different sources of income. He also provided some documents as well to justify his answer.

The team asked Hamza how his assets rapidly increased in the period when his father was the chief administrator of Punjab. To which he replied that their businesses had no links with politics and they had kept their businesses separate from politics. Moreover, he sees political matters while his brother, Suleman Shahbaz, looks after their businesses, Hamza replied.

Reportedly, the NAB team questioned Hamza about his relationship with one Fazal Dad, to which he replied that many people work in their business concerns. It is further learnt that Hamza had no answer when investigators questioned him about the money transferred to him from foreign sources. Sources claim that Hamza was unable to satisfy investigators about his foreign businesses.

However, it could not be verified independently.

It has been learnt that Hamza did not have complete documents, which were sought by the bureau. He was asked to bring all documents and details of all assets, domestic and foreign, owned by him, along with transaction details and bank accounts of his and his family members.

NAB had already arrested two alleged money-laundering facilitators of the Shahbaz family namely Qasim Qayyum and Fazal Dad Abbasi.

Meanwhile, NAB summoned Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Mian Manzoor Wattoo by April 23 to record his statement in an inquiry related to illegal appointments to Utility Store Corporation (USC).

Earlier, the bureau had sought record of appointments from the USC during the period of Wattoo as federal minister for industries and production. Wattoo is accused of making over 400 illegal appointments.