LAHORE: Adviser to Prime Minister on Accountability and Interior Shahzad Akbar Monday said that Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif was making all attempts to escape the money-laundering cases and the accountability process on one pretext or the other.
Addressing a press conference here, he said Shehbaz Sharif appeared in an accountability court on Monday in connection with the hearing of telegraphic transfers (TT), assets beyond known sources of income, and money-laundering cases and pleaded for adjourning of the hearing as he wanted to attend the National Assembly session.
He said that if Shehbaz Sharif had been clear of money-laundering charges by a London court, he should present that evidence before the courts here. He said Shehbaz Sharif and his accomplices tried to distort the facts to befool masses by projecting a narrative that London court had acquitted him of money-laundering charges. He said Shehbaz was using delaying tactics to flee the accountability process.
Shahzad Akbar said that the case in which Shehbaz Sharif today appeared before an accountability court related to assets beyond known source of income, and it was initiated in 1990 when he became a public office-holder. He said Shehbaz Sharif’s declared assets in 1990 were Rs2.1 million, those went up to Rs14.8 million in 1998 and he and his family declared assets worth Rs21 million in 2003.
Hazma Shehbaz had declared the Shehbaz Sharif family assets at Rs34.4 million in 2005, in which he, for the first time, mentioned the telegraphic transfers (TTs), he added.
The adviser said that assets of Shehbaz Sharif family significantly increased by Rs660 million as the source of income for declared assets was Rs77 million, which was 11 per cent of total income, whereas the remaining income 89 per cent came from telegraphic transfers, which were presented by exchange companies, and not banks, through forged documents, which also had been proved in the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) investigation.
Shahzad Akbar said that Shehbaz Sharif had started few companies, purchased two houses with a cost of Rs115 million; one in Murree and the other in DHA besides clearing tax payments of a land cruiser through forged or fake telegraphic transfers as a source of income.
Suleman Shehbaz and Hamza Shehbaz had accepted in writing that Manzoor Paparwala was their real investor, who invested in their businesses from London, he added.
The adviser said that telegraphic transfers of Rs181 million were directly transferred to the personal account of Hamza Shehbaz while Suleman Shehbaz received telegraphic transfer of Rs3 billion in which he had shown that he received telegraphic transfers of Rs1.5 billion as loan from Mushtaq alias Chini, adding that Mushtaq Chini had also confessed money laundering for Hamza and Suleman Shehbaz.
To a question, Shahzad Akbar said the cases like Shehbaz Sharif family were a challenge to the judiciary as every institution including parliament, government and judiciary should play its role to ensure transparency and accountability.
