NCA £190m scandal: PTI leaders excuse from appearing before NAB

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders Zulfi Bukhari and Shahzad Akbar have excused themselves from appearing before National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in the National Crime Agency (NCA) £190m scandal, ARY News reported on Saturday.  

According to details, the former premier’s aide on Overseas Pakistanis submitted a reply to accountability watchdog, excusing himself from appearing in the case.

In the written reply, Zulfi Bukhari noted that he had received the summon notice today and cannot appear before the bureau as he was abroad.

Meanwhile, Shahzad Akbar also submitted a written reply to NAB and excused from appearing in ‘personal capacity’.

In his reply, Akbar noted that he had offered to record statement via video link and also expressed his consent to record the statement in the Pakistani embassy.

He further said he has now ‘permanently shifted’ to UK and he cannot share his address due to ‘death threats’.

NCA £190m scandal

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had launched an investigation against PTI chief, Bushra Bibi and others for the alleged gain of hundreds of canals of land in the name of Al Qadir University Trust, which reportedly caused a loss of 190 million pounds to the national exchequer.

As per the charges, the former prime minister and others accused allegedly adjusted Rs50 billion — 190 million pounds at the time — sent by Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) to the government.

The PTI chief registered Trust for Al-Qadir University Project on Dec 26, 2019.