LAHORE: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his son, Hamza Shahbaz, have filed a plea seeking acquittal in the money laundering case.
On Wednesday, Advocate Amjad Pervaiz filed an acquittal petition in the accountability court of Lahore on behalf of Shehbaz Sharif and Hamza Shahbaz.
The petition stated that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had falsely fabricated a reference to money laundering against the clients. It further mentioned that their assets had been lawfully declared with the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and the Election Commission of Pakistan.
According to the petition, NAB lacks any kind of evidence, and there is no possibility of proving the case against Shehbaz Sharif and Hamza Shahbaz. Therefore, the court should acquit Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Hamza Shahbaz from the reference, as stated in the petition.
The case
The case was filed by NAB, which alleged that Shehbaz Sharif and his family members were involved in money laundering and illegal transfer of funds through fake accounts.
In December 2020, the FIA had submitted a challan against the two PML-N leaders before the court for their alleged involvement in laundering an amount of Rs16 billion in the sugar scam case.
The investigation team has “detected 28 Benami [untitled] accounts of the Shehbaz family through which money laundering of Rs16.3bn was committed during 2008 to 2018”. It examined the money trail of 17,000 credit transactions.
Shehbaz and Hamza were booked in the case along with Suleman Shehbaz, who was absconding in the United Kingdom. 14 other people were also named in the FIR.
The report revealed that the amount was kept under “hidden accounts” which were given to Shehbaz in a personal capacity.
The Sharif family has consistently denied any involvement in money laundering or other illegal financial activities. They have maintained that the case against them is politically motivated and an attempt to discredit their reputation and influence in the country.
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