NAB wants daily hearing of Shehbaz family money laundering case

LAHORE: A Lahore accountability court resumed on Friday the hearing of a money laundering reference against Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif and his family.

Punjab Assembly opposition leader Hamza Shehbaz appeared in court while Shehbaz through his counsel moved an application requesting exemption from appearance in today’s hearing, which was accepted by the accountability judge.

Also Read: Shehbaz’s wife indicted in money laundering case

A National Accountability Bureau (NAB) prosecutor demanded that witnesses’ statements be recorded afresh after the indictment of Nusrat Shehbaz, wife of the PML-N president.

Meanwhile, defence lawyers completed the cross-examination of witnesses Faisal Bilal, Syed Tayyab and Khalid Mahmood.

Prosecutor General of NAB Khaleeq-uz-Zaman requested the accountability court to hear the case on a daily basis. The case was adjourned until Nov 19 when other witnesses have been summoned to record their depositions.

Also Read: Court grants bail to accused in money laundering case against Shehbaz

On Oct 1, the court had indicted Shehbaz Sharif’s wife Nusrat Shehbaz in the money laundering case. Judge Naseem Ahmed Virk framed charges against Nusrat, who is out of the country for her medical treatment, through a pleader, Muhammad Nawaz.

The opposition leader, his wife Nusrat Shehbaz, sons Hamza and Salman Shehbaz and other family members are nominated in a reference filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) over alleged laundering Rs25 billion ill-gotten money using the Ramazan Sugar Mills and Al-Arabiya Sugar Mills.