Tag: money laundering

  • IHC grants 14-day protective bail to PM’s son Suleman Shehbaz

    IHC grants 14-day protective bail to PM’s son Suleman Shehbaz

    The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday granted protective bail to Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif’s son Suleman for 14 days in a money laundering case registered against him by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

    Last week, the IHC had barred authorities from arresting Suleman in the assets-beyond-means reference while hearing his petition for protective bail that would enable him to surrender before a trial court.

    Earlier today, Suleman appeared before a single-member bench of IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq for bail in the money laundering case.

    Amjad Pervez, Suleman’s lawyer, told the IHC CJ that his client has to appear before a special judge central in Lahore.

    After this, Justice Farooq granted protective bail to the PM’s son and directed him to appear before the relevant court within 14 days.

    Addressing the media after the hearing, Suleman addressing Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan, said, “The time of accountability is here; we will not spare him. We will not give him any space now; he will be punished.”

    Asked about Farah Khan, a friend of Imran Khan’s wife who allegedly sold the watches gifted to Khan, Suleman wondered why did she run away from Pakistan.

    “You are crying that Farah Gogi is not a public office holder. I was not a public office holder either,” said Suleman. He added that PTI chairman, while he was in power, did not even think about women and instantly arrested them.

    “You had the power, you could have proven the cases,” said Suleman.

    The PM’s son also slammed former National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman Javed Iqbal, saying that he was a “black stain” on the accountability system.

  • Pakistan likely to exit FATF grey list after 4 years

    Pakistan likely to exit FATF grey list after 4 years

    Pakistan is expected to leave the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list on October 21 after topping the dreaded chart for over four years.

    According to Dawn, a 15-member team of the money-laundering watchdog concluded its onsite visit to Pakistan on September 2, with the final decision on the country’s grey list status now expected at its next meeting set to take place in Paris this week.

    According to an official statement, panellists from 206 Global Network members and observer organisations, including the International Monetary Fund, the United Nations, the World Bank, Interpol, and the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units, will attend the Working Group and Plenary meetings in Paris.

    The outcome of the two-day deliberations on Pakistan’s status would be announced. The FATF Onsite team’s report on Pakistan is scheduled to be reviewed at the plenary meetings.

    Pakistani authorities believe that after four years of hard effort, the country has achieved not just a high level of technical compliance with FATF standards, but also a high degree of efficacy through the implementation of two comprehensive FATF action plans.

    It is worth noting that the FATF found Pakistan generally compliant on all 34 issues in June of this year and opted to send an onsite team to verify it on the ground before formally declaring the country’s removal from the grey list in August and September.

    Pakistan was rated “compliant or generally compliant” with FATF criteria in 38 of 40 recommendations, putting the country among the top FATF-compliant countries in the world.

    Pakistan was officially placed on the FATF grey list for the third time on June 28, 2018, and has been working to remove itself off the list ever since.

    The country was originally placed on the FATF grey list in 2008 after failing to meet international anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CFT) requirements. Pakistan was removed from the list in 2010 after upgrading its AML/CFT regime. However, Pakistan was placed on the grey list again in 2012 and remained there until 2015.

  • PM Shehbaz, Hamza acquitted in money laundering case

    PM Shehbaz, Hamza acquitted in money laundering case

    A special court in Lahore on Wednesday acquitted Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his son, Hamza Shehbaz, in a Rs. 16 billion money laundering case.

    During Tuesday’s hearing, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) told the court that no direct transaction had been made in the bank accounts of PM Shehbaz and his son from benami accounts [hidden accounts].

    Reacting to the verdict, the PM thanked the Almighty for this day in a tweet. “Despite the worst practices, use of state force and holding institutions hostage, we stand successfully before the court, the law and the people,” he wrote.

    In the previous hearing, Special Court Judge Ejaz Awan asked about the number of bank accounts owned by the Malik Maqsood — also known as Maqsood Chaprasi.

    FIA prosecutor Farooq Bajwa responded that the late Maqsood had eight bank accounts to his name.

    The prosecutor further stated that no money was either directly deposited or withdrawn from the accounts of the suspects, including Shehbaz and Hamza.

    The judge asked what evidence was there to substantiate that the entire money dealing was being done at Hamza’s behest. In response, FIA’s prosecutor said the agency does not have “any evidence” linking him to money laundering.

    FIA had booked Shehbaz and his two sons, Hamza and Suleman, in November 2020 under Sections 419, 420, 468, 471, 34 and 109 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, read with Section 3/4 of Anti-Money Laundering Act.

    The FIA had in December 2021 submitted the challan against Shehbaz and Hamza to a special court for their alleged involvement in laundering an amount of Rs16bn in the sugar scam case.

    “The investigation team has detected 28 benami accounts of the Shehbaz family through which money laundering of Rs16.3bn was committed during 2008-18. The FIA examined the money trail of 17,000 credit transactions,” said an FIA report submitted to the court.

    The amount was kept in “hidden accounts” and given to Shehbaz in a personal capacity, the report added.

  • FIA says no money was directly deposited into PM Shehbaz, Hamza’s accounts

    FIA says no money was directly deposited into PM Shehbaz, Hamza’s accounts

    The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) informed a special court in Lahore that no money was “directly deposited” into the bank accounts of Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif and his son, Hamza Shehbaz, in a Rs16 billion money laundering case.

    On Tuesday, the court was told that PM Shehbaz could not appear due to official engagements and requested an exemption for a day. However, Hamza appeared in court.

    Answering questions raised by the judge today, FIA’s prosecutor informed the court that Malik Maqsood – the deceased key figure in the money laundering case – had been operating eight bank accounts and that all details had been mentioned in the challan submitted before the court.

    FIA’s prosecutor, Farooq Bajwa, further argued that the record shows that neither the amounts had ever been deposited nor withdrawn from PM Shehbaz Sharif or from his son Hamza’s bank accounts.

    Hamza’s counsel argued that there is no allegation of kickbacks on the accused persons. He added that the investigation was carried out before the political situation changed and the statements were recorded on political bases.

    Earlier this month, the FIA had given a clean chit to PM Shehbaz and Hamza Shehbaz in this case, saying there was no direct evidence against them in the case.

    The case:

    In 2021, FIA submitted a challan against Shehbaz and Hamza to the special court for their alleged involvement in laundering Rs16 billion in a sugar scam.

    The report added that the amount was kept in “hidden accounts” and “given to Shehbaz in a personal capacity”.

    At the time, FIA had said that the amount of Rs16 billion has nothing to do with the sugar business of Shehbaz’s family. The money allegedly received from the accounts of low-wage employees was transferred outside Pakistan, ultimately destined for the beneficial use of his family members.

  • Maryam Nawaz gets her passport back after three years

    Maryam Nawaz gets her passport back after three years

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz received her passport on Monday after Lahore High Court (LHC) ordered that the passport be returned to her.

    She had surrendered her passport three years ago in order to get bail in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills money laundering case.

    “Alhamdulillah, my passport has been returned”, Maryam said in a tweet.

    “Due to the fear of my jalsas (rallies), fitna kept me in NAB for three months and in death cell in Kot Lakhpat Jail for investigation, but the case has not been filed to date”, she added.

    A three-member bench of the LHC, headed by Chief Justice (CJ) Muhammad Ameer Bhatti and comprising Justice Ali Baqar Najafi and Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh heard the case on Monday (today). During the proceedings, Maryam’s counsel Muhammad Amjad Pervaiz argued that his client had been granted bail after she surrendered her passport in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills money laundering case but that despite the passage of a span of four years, no reference had been filed against her.

    Maryam, through her counsel, moved the fresh petition, arguing that in 2019, NAB had forced her to surrender her passport in this case, fearing that she would flee the country.

    Pervaiz also informed the court that the conviction in the Avenfield case could have caused difficulty in the return of her passport, but that the case has been closed.

    During the hearing, the federal government said that they have no objection to the plea. The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) prosecutor also said that his organisation has no objection to it. He added that they did not know whether the case came under their jurisdiction or not after the new amendments to NAB’s law.

    Last month, Maryam approached the court to get her passport released. She stated that she was unable to exercise her fundamental rights for the last four years despite the absence of any charge sheet or trial, as she had surrendered her passport in accordance with the court’s order when she was arrested in 2019.

    The case:

    As per details of Chaudhry Sugar Mill’s money-laundering investigation, NAB in January 2018 received a Financial Monitoring Unit (FMU) report describing suspicious transactions of billions of rupees under the Anti-Money Laundering Act.

    After receiving the FMU report, NAB started an inquiry in October 2018 and found that PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz, the incumbent PM Shehbaz Sharif, Abbas Sharif and family were shareholders in the company, along with foreigners from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the United Kingdom (UK).

    A probe revealed that investments in Chaudhry Sugar Mills from 2001 to 2017 worth billions of rupees were made under the guise of issuing shares for foreigners.

    Interestingly, later on, the same shares of the company were transferred back to Maryam, Hussain, and Nawaz Sharif on various occasions without any money paid to the said foreign business partners.

  • Rs16 billion money laundering case: PM Shehbaz appears before court, terms case as ‘fake’

    Rs16 billion money laundering case: PM Shehbaz appears before court, terms case as ‘fake’

    A special court in Lahore adjourned the hearing till October 8 in a Rs16 billion money laundering case filed by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) against Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif and his son, Hamza Shehbaz.

    The court also directed the lawyer to submit additional details on the acquittal plea by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders.

    In the hearing which took place on Friday (today), PM’s son Hamza Shehbaz did not appear before the court as he had sought exemption on medical grounds. However, PM Shehbaz appeared before the court but later sought exemption as he had “important” matters to attend to.

    PM’s lawyer Amjad Pervaiz told the court that the first information report (FIR) registered against his clients mentioned they were involved in money laundering worth Rs25 billion from 2008-2018 through fake companies. However, he said, “During this 10-year span, PM Shehbaz was neither the director nor a shareholder of those companies.”

    PM Shehbaz also spoke before the court, stating that the money laundering case against him is “fake”.

    He claimed that when he was Chief Minister (CM) for 20 years he had made decisions that “hurt” his family’s sugar business. “I was requested to provide subsidy to sugar mills, but I refused. I refused as the amount (that would be used for subsidy) belonged to the poor people in Punjab,” he declared to the court.

    Later, he sought an exemption from the court which was granted to him. After Shehbaz left, the court went on a break.

    Once the hearing resumed, the lawyer presented his arguments again. Then, the court adjourned the hearing till October 8 and asked him to continue deliberations at the next hearing.

    In 2021, the FIA submitted a challan against Shehbaz and Hamza to the special court for their alleged involvement in laundering Rs16 billion in a sugar scam.

    The report added that the amount was kept in “hidden accounts” and “given to Shehbaz in a personal capacity”.

    At the time, FIA had said that the amount of Rs16 billion has nothing to do with the sugar business of Shehbaz’s family. The money allegedly received from the accounts of low-wage employees was transferred outside Pakistan, ultimately destined for the beneficial use of his family members.

  • PTI foreign funding case: ECP says PTI received prohibited funds

    PTI foreign funding case: ECP says PTI received prohibited funds

    The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in its verdict on Tuesday unanimously ruled that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) did indeed receive prohibited funding and issued a show-cause notice to the party.

    A three-member ECP bench headed by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikander Sultan Raja announced the verdict in a case filed by PTI founding member Akbar S. Babar. Akbar filed the case on November 14, 2014. The verdict was reserved on June 21.

    The ECP said that the party, in violation of the Constitution, had received funds from 34 foreign entities. The party received funds from the United States, Australia, and the UAE. The ECP added that 13 unidentified accounts also surfaced during the probe in the PTI funding case.

    It says that PTI Chairman Imran Khan submitted a false Nomination Form I. The PTI chairman kept accounts hidden, which the ECP said is a violation of the Constitution, and the affidavit provided regarding party accounts was also false.

    The commission noted that “the party knowingly and willfully received funding from Wootton Cricket Limited, operated by business tycoon Arif Naqvi. The party was a willing recipient of prohibited money of $2,121,500”.

    ECP Verdict on PTI’s foreign funding case is attached below;

    ECP-VERDICTDownload

    The ECP said that the party knowingly and willfully also received donations from Bristol Engineering Services (a UAE-based company), E-Planet Trustees (a Cayman Island private registered company), SS Marketing Manchester (a UK-based private company), PTI USA LLC-6160, and PTI USA LLC-5975 which were hit by prohibition and in violation of Pakistani laws.

    The ECP went on to say that the party had only owned eight accounts before the commission and declared 13 accounts to be unknown. “The data obtained from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) reveals that all the 13 accounts disowned by the PTI were opened and operated by senior PTI management and leadership at [a] central and provincial level.”

    The PTI chairman submitted Form-I for five years (between 2008-2013), which was found to be “grossly inaccurate on the basis of the financial statements obtained by this commission from SBP and other material available on record”.

    “Imran Khan for the five years under review has filed submissions that were grossly inaccurate and wrong. Even during the course of scrutiny and hearing by this commission, the PTI continued to conceal and withhold complete and full disclosure of [the] source of its funds.”

    The demand for an announcement of the verdict in this important case increased following an explosive story by the Financial Times, revealing the sources of funding of the PTI.

    Read more: PTI foreign funding case: New revelations in Financial Times spark another controversy

    Khan persistently has been demanding CEC Raja’s resignation, accusing him of being biased towards the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).

    Read more: What did Bushra Bibi and Khan do after losing the no-confidence motion? Imran reveals all

    Addressing his party members at PTI’s national council meeting in Islamabad on August 1, Khan called for a protest outside the ECP office in Islamabad on Thursday, August 4, to demand CEC Sikandar Sultan Raja’s resignation.

    PTI foreign funding case: ECP to announce verdict tomorrow

    The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has announced that its verdict on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)’s foreign funding case will be announced tomorrow (Tuesday, August 2) at 10am.

    Earlier it was reported by Daily Jang that after eight years ECP might announce its verdict this week in the PTI foreign funding case.

    ECP officials revealed that the investigations into international money-laundering have been completed.

    “PTI is only harming itself by filing a judicial reference against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja,” said ECP officials. They said that during the hearing of this judicial reference, certain matters that were earlier “hidden from public view would be revealed”. They further claimed that the judicial reference against the Election Commission of Pakistan and the CEC “is an attempt to create a smoke screen ahead of the verdict” by “blackmailers” who are part of an international money-laundering ring.

    The officials further said that ECP will not bow to any “blackmailing and will not come under any pressure”, clarifying that the ECP has no bias toward any political party.

    The development has come forward after an investigative report published in Financial Times revealed new details about PTI’s foreign funding.

    After the FT report, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said that the coalition government, including the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), met ECP officials and urged them to release the verdict on the foreign funding case.

    Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif has also repeatedly urged the ECP to announce its verdict in the long-delayed case.

  • PML-Q’s Moonis Elahi gets interim bail in Rs720 million money laundering case

    PML-Q’s Moonis Elahi gets interim bail in Rs720 million money laundering case

    Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) leader Moonis Elahi has been granted interim bail till July 4 by a banking court in a Rs720 million money laundering case against him, which was filed by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

    The court has reportedly asked FIA to submit the record of the case and barred the agency from arresting Elahi till July 4. Moreover, it has directed Moonis to submit Rs500,000 as a surety against the bail.

    In the bail petition, Elahi argued that the money laundering case against him is politically motivated, maintaining that he is innocent.

    “The proceedings have been initiated to harass and blackmail the petitioner and his family so as to muffle their voice against the government of the day,” the petition stated.

    Terming the First Information Report (FIR) against Elahi “illegal and without lawful authority”, the petition further stated the case has no connection with matters concerning the federal government. Similarly, it stated that the FIA “does not have the jurisdiction to proceed in such matters”.

    In the petition, it is said that no evidence on record proved an offence that could be registered under the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2010, and other sections. Furthermore, the petition underlined that the case against Elahi was registered without him “being summoned” or sent a notice after the completion of the inquiry.

    Earlier, the FIA booked Moonis, Punjab Assembly (PA) Secretary Muhammad Khan Bhatti, and others on charges of money laundering.

    What is the case?

    According to the FIA’s FIR, the case against Elahi was registered in which the state has been named as the complainant. The agency said that it has “solid evidence” against the PML-Q leader.

    According to the FIR, proceedings against Moonis under the Money Laundering Act started during former Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s tenure. Last year, Khan had tasked the FIA to investigate the sugar crisis throughout the country and find out who benefitted from it.

    Following this, the FIA released a report claiming that some of Khan’s own party members and Moonis were among those who had allegedly gained from the sugar crisis in Pakistan.

  • Salman or Suleman: What is the real name of Shehbaz Sharif’s son?

    Salman or Suleman: What is the real name of Shehbaz Sharif’s son?

    Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif’s son who is in the limelight for accompanying his father on his official Turkey trip, got us all confused this morning. As the editor of the story sat to write the news story, she noticed that various newspapers had addressed Shehbaz’s son differently. Some had written that he is ‘Salman Shehbaz’ and some called him ‘Suleman’.

    Below are screenshots of the news stories.

    Newspaper The News called the premier’s son, “Salman”. The headline read, “(Money-laundering case)..Non-bailable arrest warrant issued for Salman.”

    Dawn, in a story published on September 28, 2021, while writing about the premier’s son wrote, “A UK court has ordered unfreezing of the bank accounts of PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif and his son Suleman Shehbaz after the country’s National Crime Agency (NCA) did not find evidence regarding ‘suspicious bank transactions’ against them.”

    Former Minister Ali Zaidi too seemed to not know and addressed him as Salman.

    The premier’s son’s Twitter handle cleared the confusion as his name there is “Suleman Sharif”

    We also spoke to someone close to the Prime Minister’s son who clarified that his name is indeed Suleman and not Salman.

  • ‘Martay dum tak jhoota, meray naam pe TRP kamana nahi chor sakta, evil, lowlife’: Ayyan Ali lambasts Imran Khan

    ‘Martay dum tak jhoota, meray naam pe TRP kamana nahi chor sakta, evil, lowlife’: Ayyan Ali lambasts Imran Khan

    Supermodel Ayyan Ali took to her official Twitter handle to respond to former PM Imran Khan’s allegations about her case. Khan recently claimed that the custom officer in the supermodel’s case was killed to facilitate her.

    However, Ali in a detailed thread on Twitter denied the accusation with ‘proofs’. The controversial celebrity called Imran Khan a liar and added that he can’t stop making false accusations against her despite being the PM for four years.

    In a series of controversial tweets, the Earthquake diva stated that Imran cannot stop taking her name to stay relevant and also can’t get rid of his habit of lying.

    Ayyan was arrested from Islamabad airport on the allegations of foreign currency smuggling in 2015.