Pakistan court summons PM Shehbaz Sharif, son Hamza on Septembar 7 for indictment in ₹16bn money-laundering case
The Hindu
Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif and his sons Hamza and Suleman were booked by the Federal Investigation Agency in November 2020 under various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act and Anti-Money Laundering Act.
A special Pakistani court on July 30 summoned Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his son Hamza Shehbaz on September 7 for the framing of charges against them in a ₹16 billion money-laundering case.
Shehbaz, 70, and his sons Hamza, 47, and Suleman, 40, were booked by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in November 2020 under various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act and Anti-Money Laundering Act.
The case is being heard by a special court in Lahore, which already granted pre-arrest bails to both father and son. Both Shehbaz and Hamza were absent during the hearing as their lawyers requested for a one-time exemption on their behalf.
Shehbaz’s lawyer Amjad Pervaiz told the court that he had been advised against travelling as he was not well. Hamza’s lawyer Rao Aurangzeb said his client had severe back pain and needed rest. FIA Prosecutor Farooq Bajwa did not object to the exemption, which was granted by the court.
The prosecutor told the court that they had obtained the record of 19 bank accounts of Suleman Shehbaz, the second son of Prime Minister Shehbaz while the record of another seven was yet to be obtained. After hearing the arguments, the court adjourned the case until September 7 when it summoned Shehbaz and Hamza for the framing of charges.
Shehbaz and Hamza were previously set to be indicted on May 14 but it was deferred as the Prime Minister was out of the country.
According to the FIA report submitted to the court, the investigation team has "detected 28 benami accounts of the Shehbaz family through which money-laundering of ₹16.3bn was committed during 2008-18. The FIA examined the money trail of 17,000 credit transactions." Benami transaction refers to any transaction made by a person without using his name or by using the name of another person.
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