Shehbaz money-laundering case: Banking court returns probe challan to prosecution

LAHORE: A banking court Friday sent back the money-laundering investigation challan against the Shehbaz family to the prosecution.

The court returned the challan after accepting the FIA’s plea that a banking court has no jurisdiction of hearing money-laundering charges. The court also granted seven-day protective bail to Shehbaz Sharif and Hamza Shehbaz.

Previously, the FIA had declared PMLN President Shehbaz and his son Hamza as prime accused in Rs 16 bn money-laundering scams through accounts of sugar mills and their employees.

The FIA claimed that the father-son duo failed to provide a money trail of Rs16 bn and declared them principal accused in the challan submitted before a banking court. As per the challan, the FIA declared Suleman Shehbaz as proclaimed offender along with two other accused including Malik Maqsood Ahmad and Sayed Tahir Naqvi. As many as 100 prosecution witnesses will record their testimony in this case as prescribed in the challan.