Assets beyond means: NAB challenges in SC bail granted to Khursheed, others

ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Wednesday challenged in the Supreme Court the bail granted to the members of PPP leader Khursheed Shah’s family in the asset beyond means case.

Last month, the Sindh High Court (SHC) Circuit Bench, Sukkur comprising Justice Shamsuddin Abbasi and Justice Amjad Hussain Sahito rejected the bail pleas of PPP senior leader Syed Khurshid Shah and his son Farukh Shah in the asset beyond means case.

The bench, however, had granted bail to Bibi Gul Naz and Bibi Talat, wives of Syed Khursheed Shah and his son, Zeerak Shah, and nephew.

NAB Prosecutor General Syed Asghar Haider filed a petition in the Supreme Court under Article 185(3) of the constitution and prayed to grant leave to appeal against the order passed by the SHC at Sukkur on April 22, 2020 and dismissed the pre-arrest bails granted to the respondents Bibi Gul Naz and Bibi Talat and Zeerka Shah and Syed Khalid Hussain Shah in the interest of justice.

The anti-graft body prayed to the apex court to call for record and proceedings in the matter from learned high court of Sindh bench at Sukkur and after examining the legality, propriety and correctness of the impugned order, the apex court may be pleased to convert the instant petition into appeal and set aside the order passed on April 22, 2020.

It submitted that the respondent Syed Zeerakh Khursheed Shah is one of the accused in NAB reference in the case titled State verses Syed Khursheed Shah and others was granted bail before his arrest by the Sindh High Court, Sukkur bench by holding that the NAB is investigating from year 2008 while property transferred in the name of the respondent in the year 2005 hence case of further inquiry and role be determined at trial which is against the law and facts as the respondent/accused is benamidar/beneficiary owner.

Therefore, the finding of the court is against the law and facts and not sustainable, the NAB contended.

The anti-graft body submitted that the investigation report reveals that as per inflow and outflow charts the accused persons accumulated to the tune of Rs715,743,751 from the years 2005, 2008 to 2009 and they have got these accumulations of assets from ill-gotten money as they could not justify the said amount.

It also submitted that the PPP leader and his family also maintained standard of living which does not commensurate with their known sources of income including unexplained banking transactions of Rs371,904,923 and $84,343 and with unexplained cash in hand of Rs4,99,60,829.

The NAB questioned as to whether the division bench of the SHC, Sukkur bench has passed the impugned order in haste and without applying judicious mind and thus not properly adjudicate upon the matter.

“Whether it has failed to consider that there was a sufficient material with the prosecution, which was prima facia connected the respondent with the commission of offence and there appeared reasonable ground to believe that the he was involved in commission of offence of corruption and corrupt practice as benamidar owner and facilitated the accused persons in layering the crime proceed, which is a offence under Section 9(a) of NAB Ordinance as well as Anti-Money Laundering Act”, the NAB further questioned.

Last year in September, the NAB had arrested PPP leader Khursheed Shah from Islamabad in a case regarding his alleged assets beyond means.