Hamza will flee country if not arrested: NAB
- By Abid Khan -
- May 22, 2019
LAHORE: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Wednesday expressed the apprehension that Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly Hamza Shehbaz will flee the country if he is not arrested.
A Lahore High Court bench was hearing a petition filed by the PML-N leader seeking extension in his pre-arrest bail.
A NAB lawyer contended before the court that Hamza accumulated billions of rupees worth of assets whose money trail is unknown, adding enormous sums were transferred into his mother and brother’s accounts from abroad.
He said the PML-N leader’s arrest is required for investigation, apprehending that he would escape from the country if he is not arrested.
The counsel stated that suspicious transactions worth around Rs500 million were found in Hamza’s account. Besides, he added, the accused owned benami properties.
Hamza’s lawyer, however, argued that the corruption watchdog acted against his client without concrete evidence. Ill-founded allegations were levelled against the PML-N leader to defame him, he added.
He questioned the powers of the watchdog to probe money laundering cases saying the bureau lacked authority to investigate such cases.
After hearing arguments, the bench extended Hamza’s interim bail until May 28.