Shahbaz Sharif claims nothing to do with sugar mill investments

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-N President Shahbaz Sharif told the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) personnel at Kot Lakhpat Jail on Dec 18, 2020 that he had nothing to do with his family’s business/ investment links to the Ramzan Sugar Mills (RSM).

“I had neither been a director/ share-holder nor had I ever drawn any salary or dividends from the Ramzan Sugar Mills Ltd.

“I believe the allegations in the FIR are forged and concocted. The concoction is similar to the concoction made by NAB [National Accountability Bureau] in the fake TTs/money laundering reference, presently under trial in a NAB court,” Shahbaz stated in response to a query, posed by the FIA team.

The statement apparently contradicted Shahbaz Sharif’s assets declaration, submitted to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), wherein he stated that he had 6,400,000 [6.4 million] shares in the RSML, which were given by his family members.

The investigation team, in its question, said: “[The] FIA has credible evidence that over Rs25 billion [identified so far] were deposited (including gratifications from sources extraneous to sugar-business) opened and operated in the name of low-wage employees of Ramzan Sugar Mills Ltd/ Al-Arabia Sugar Mills Ltd/ fake companies.

“Have you in any way been privy to any of the transactions deposited into/ received from these accounts by or on your behalf? If no, then how, for example, the cheques (worth Rs5mn) received by you from Aurangzeb Butt, ended up being deposited in the account of Guizar A Khan (deceased), a peon of the RSML?”

On this point, Shahbaz Sharif said, “As far as specific response to this or any other question is required, I'll give that response after consulting my counsel/ legal team at an appropriate time.”

The FIA team further claimed that it had credible information that gratifications in cash were received on Shahbaz Sharif’s behalf by Suleman Shahbaz in bulk-cash.

Being the head of family (spouse & children), was it not your responsibility to see why your family-owned businesses/ assets were engaged in an organised spree of money-laundering and consequently your family was amassing wealth (pecuniary resources) beyond known sources of income, suppressing the due diligence mechanisms of the financial institutions, while you also held the office as chief minister Punjab (2008-2018), the FIA team asked Shahbaz Sharif.

In his response, the PML-N president told the FIA team: "I take pride in telling this investigation team and want to make it part of record that during my service as a chief servant of the people of Punjab for 10 years (2008-2018), I worked tirelessly along with my team and saved hundreds of billions of rupees in public spending beyond the call of my duty and over and above the requirement of PPRA rules or any other prevalent law."

Similarly, Hamza Shahbaz informed the FIA that he had no direct interaction with the employees of the RSML and ASML or the transactions conducted by these employees. Hamza Shahbaz told the FIA team that he had been involved in politics for more than a decade. “The business was practically being run by my younger brother Suleman Shahbaz and I was merely the CEO [chief executive officer] on paper.

“I have never been involved and had no knowledge of the book keeping of the company,” he informed the team.

To a question about huge transactions and deposit in various accounts of the RSML and other companies in the name of one Rizwan Qureshi, Hamza said, “I know Rizwan Qureshi, but I never authorised him to conduct any transactions on my behalf.

“I, however, am sure that investigation will never be able to find a single penny of corruption of kickbacks in the stated transactions of Rs25 billion or otherwise, as my father has always guided me to stay away from corruption.” About alleged hawala/ hundi transactions, he said he was not aware of it.