NAB moves Supreme Court for cancellation of Maryam's bail

ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Friday moved a petition in the Supreme Court seeking cancellation of the post-arrest bail granted to PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case.

The corruption watchdog assailed the Lahore High Court’s Nov 4 verdict through which it ordered her release on bail.

The petition states that the high court handed down the verdict against the top court’s directions in similar cases.

“The high court made observations about evidence in the bail case, which can potentially impact the trial proceedings,” the bureau apprehends, pleading with the apex court to set aside the LHC verdict of approving bail for Maryam.

Earlier, on Nov 4, a two-member bench of the LHC, headed by Justice Baqir Ali Najfi, had announced the verdict granting bail to Maryam Nawaz so she can look after her ailing father, PML-N supreme leader Mian Nawaz Sharif.

Maryam was ordered to submit surety bonds worth Rs10 million to secure her release and surrender her passport.

The LHC had reserved the ruling on Oct 31 over her plea.

Maryam Nawaz’s arrest

A NAB had taken Maryam Nawaz into custody on August 8 over her alleged involvement in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case.

The Sharif family has been accused of using Chaudhry Sugar Mills for money-laundering and illegal transfer of its shares.

According to NAB, the family took a $15 million loan on the pretext to set up the mill despite the fact that it had already been established before the loan was acquired.

The NAB maintains that more than Rs7 million worth of shares were transferred to PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz in 2008 through mill’s shares, which were later transferred to her cousin Yousaf Abbas Sharif in 2010