Assets beyond means: LHC confirms pre-arrest bail of Rana Sana

LAHORE: A Lahore High Court division bench on Monday confirmed the interim pre-arrest bail of former law minister Rana Sanaullah in an inquiry into assets beyond means.

Earlier, NAB Special Prosecutor Faisal Raza Bokhari said the bureau had started the inquiry against Sana well before his arrest in a drug recovery case lodged by the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF). The prosecutor said a voter of Sana’s constituency had filed a complaint with the NAB, accusing him of accumulating assets beyond known sources of income. He said the chairman of the NAB issued warrants for Sana on Nov 9, 2020.

The prosecutor rejected an argument of the former minister’s counsel that the ANF accused him of amassing the assets with the business of drug. However, he failed to satisfy the bench’s query about the reason behind freezing the assets of the petitioner by the ANF in the drug case. The prosecutor said the investigations by the NAB and the ANF are different from each other. However, the bench observed that both investigations are about the same assets.

The prosecutor admitted that the assets of Sana would stand confiscated if he is convicted in the drug case. The bench asked the prosecutor as to what would be the fate of the NAB inquiry if the petitioner is convicted in the drug case.

After hearing the arguments, the bench confirmed the interim pre-arrest bail of Sana subject to surety bounds of Rs 5 million. A two-judge bench had granted the pre-arrest bail to Sana on March 5, 2020.