Judicial remand of Maryam, cousin extended till Nov 2

LAHORE: An accountability court on Friday extended the judicial remand of PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz by November 2. She is an accused in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills alleged money laundering case.

Jail officials produced Maryam before the court amid tight security as heavy contingents of law-enforcement agencies had cordonedoff the court premises. The NAB again failed to submit a reference after which the court extended the judicial remand of Maryam. In the courtroom, Maryam, while talking to the media, said she is concerned about the health of her father Nawaz Sharif, otherwise her own health is fine. She also talked to Nawaz on phone. Junaid Safdar, son of Maryam, accompanied her in the courtroom.

The court also extended the judicial remand of Yousaf Abbas, cousin of Maryam and co-accused in the case. As per NAB, the bureau in January 2018 had received a Financial Monitoring Unit (FMU) report describing huge suspicious transactions in billions of rupees in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills under Anti-Money Laundering Act. It is pertinent to mention here that in January 2018, the PML-N was ruling the country. After receiving the FMU report, the NAB started its inquiry in October 2018 and found that Nawaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz, Shahbaz Sharif and family and Abbas Sharif and family are shareholders in the company, along with some foreigners from the UAE and the UK. During probe, it revealed that huge investments were made in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills from 2001 to 2017 in billions of rupees in the name of issuing shares in the name of foreigners. Interestingly, later on, the same shares were transferred back to Maryam, Hussain and Nawaz without paying any money to the foreign business partners.