PM promised to address reservations: Jahangir Tareen

LAHORE: Famous politician and sugar-baron Jahangir Khan Tareen (JKT) has said he will not comment on what Shah Mehmood Qureshi said about him and his aides as what he said was below his dignity.

Talking to the media after appearing before a banking and sessions court here on Monday, he said the meeting of his friends with Prime Minister Imran Khan was held in a cordial atmosphere. The PM had given the case responsibility to Ali Zafar Advocate, promising that their reservations would be addressed and justice would be dispensed, JKT added.

He said his was not a criminal case and the FIA had no role in it. “These are business cases; not a public fund or secret fund case,” Tareen said adding “I have been under investigation for over a year and I have made 78 appearances before the authorities concerned.

“I am not talking about closing the cases, but seeking my right to a transparent inquiry.” To a question, Tareen said: “We are talking about our cases, not about obstructing the passage of the budget.” He said women workers in the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf “are also in our support and I have no connection with the PML-N or the PPP”.

Tareen said “we have presented ourselves before the court and we wish for transparent court proceedings”. Earlier a banking and sessions court extended interim bail of Jahangir Khan Tareen and his son Ali Khan Tareen till May 19 in two separate cases of alleged corporate fraud, fake accounts and money-laundering, filed by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

Both the courts directed the FIA to complete investigation and submit report till the next date. The FIA stated in the FIR that during the course of an inquiry, a fraudulent and premeditated scheme of misappropriation of public shareholders’ money by Jahangir Khan Tareen surfaced, whereby the JDW (a public limited listed company) fraudulently transferred Rs3.14 billion to an associated private company, Farooqi Pulp Mills Ltd Gujrat (FPML), owned by his son and close relatives.

“The material disclosed that the FMPL was declared ‘not a going-concern’ (especially since FY- 2011/12) and that its operations had been practically shut down with multiple failed trial-runs. It was intentionally withheld/ concealed from public shareholders of JDW, which amounted to criminal breach of trust (406 PPC) of public-shareholders’ money over which Jahangir Khan Tareen had fiduciary control as CEO,” the FIR stated.

“A corporate fraud of Rs3.6 billion was committed by the JDW through over-valued purchase of associated company JK Farming Systems Ltd and booking losses through it, a corporate fraud of Rs3.1 billion was committed by the JDW through investment in Farooqi Pulp Ltd and booking impairment losses through it, inexplicable transfer of Rs2.5 billion by JDW through non-arm’s cash transfers to various sister entities via Amir Warsi cash boy, inexplicable transfer of Rs7 billion was committed by the JDW to Dherki Sugar Mills (non-arm’s cash transfers) without true and full disclosure in the financial statement,” the FIA claimed.