Money laundering case: PM Shehbaz Sharif, CM Hamza skips hearing

LAHORE: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif on Wednesday will skip proceedings of a money laundering case against them in an accountability court today, ARY NEWS reported.

An exemption plea has been filed from Shehbaz Sharif and Hamza Shahbaz with the former citing engagement in the National Assembly session in Islamabad and the latter saying that he would be busy in the budget session of the Punjab Assembly.

They pleaded before the court to exempt their attendance from the proceedings. The court later accepted their pleas.

In another case of money laundering being proceeded in a special court against the father and the son duo, the court stated that the investigation officer (IO) to date has not demanded the detention of accused for further investigation.

Special Judge Central – Ijaz Hassan Awan – has issued a 22-page detailed verdict regarding confirmation of bails to the PM Shehbaz and CM Hamza in Rs16 money laundering case.

In the written order, the Court pointed out that the investigation office (IO) to date has not mentioned in his diary that the accused were required to be in custody for further investigation.

The judgment read that according to Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), a politician gave Rs14 million to Shehbaz Sharif against a ticket of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). “However, the agency could not provide the name of the politician to date,” it stated.

The court, in the written order, stated that the prosecution could not establish through evidence that Shehbaz Sharif was a shareholder or director of Ramzan Sugar Mills.

The court added that although Hamza Shahbaz was the CEO of the Ramazan Sugar Mills, the prosecution was not able to prove that the accounts — used to launder money — were opened on his orders.

The order said that the FIA started investigating Hamza and PM Shehbaz when they were already in the NAB’s custody. Following this, the FIA did not interrogate them for the next five months.

Once they were released from NAB’s custody, the court said FIA asked them to appear before it. “This shows that the prosecution wanted to arrest them again after their release, which shows its mal intent,” the order added.

The allegation about gratification, corrupt practice, abuse of official authority, and commission requires further probe during the trial as at this stage cogent evidence is not available,” the order concluded.