‘Shahzad Akbar wasn’t present during Broadsheet ‘bribe offer’ episode’

LONDON: Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on Accountability Shahzad Akbar was not present when a senior Pakistani official visiting London last summer to meet the Broadsheet owner asked for commission in exchange of signing a new deal to trace alleged assets of politicians and others.

Kaveh Moussavi, the Broadsheet CEO, spoke to The News and Geo extensively on all aspects of his issues with the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) but he confirmed that Shahzad Akbar was not part of the meeting where the visiting Pakistani official asked him for bribe without any hesitation.

Moussavi has strongly criticised Shahzad Akbar on the way he dealt with him during unsuccessful negotiations to resolve the issue and said Shahzad Akbar asked for a “discount” on the judgment amount and costs for the Pakistan government.

Moussavi said he had met Shahzad Akbar twice – at the Royal Gardens Hotel and Chelsea Arts Club – to talk about ending the litigation but he was not present when a Pakistani official met him at the Café Rouge and demanded bribes for getting the deal signed with the PTI government.

Shahzad Akbar has said he met Kaveh Moussavi in 2019 to “negotiate the award price and trying to reduce the payable amount”.

It was claimed that an unnamed individual who accompanied Shahzad Akbar to a meeting with Moussavi was “more interested in getting his cut than investigating suspects”.

The Broadsheet owner has told Geo News that only two meetings took place between the CEO and Akbar in 2019 where they negotiated the settlement of payment but that effort didn’t go anywhere as Pakistan didn’t pay and Kaveh seized money from Pakistan through a court order.