Suspect sent on judicial remand in Shahbaz Sharif's TT scandal case

LAHORE: An accountability court in Lahore has sent the prime suspect named Ali Ahmed Khan to jail on a 14-day judicial remand in the TT scandal case against Shahbaz Sharif family, ARY News reported on Wednesday.

The accountability court conducted the hearing of the TT scandal case in which the prime suspect, Ali Ahmed Khan, was produced after the completion of the physical remand.

During the hearing, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) prosecutor told the court that the accused had not disclosed any details during interrogation. The prosecutor added that the accused had insisted to present the record in the court of law whenever he was being questioned.

The NAB prosecutor said that Rs41 million had been deposited to Ali Ahmed Khan’s bank account. He detailed that the accused gave three different statements during the interrogation. The prosecutor sought the extension of physical remand.

READ: PRIME SUSPECT IN TT SCANDAL INVOLVING SHEHBAZ SHARIF ARRESTED

The lawyer representing the suspect told the court that the anti-corruption watchdog had declared his client a benamidar [ostensible owner]. He asked the NAB prosecutor whether the bureau was submitting an interim challan to the court or not.

The defence lawyer said that all details were given in a 26,000-page corruption reference, whereas, there was no need to extend the physical remand of his client. The lawyer sought the court’s permission to meet the accused.

The court reserved a verdict on NAB’s plea seeking an extension of the physical remand of Ali Ahmed Khan. Later, the court permitted the defence lawyers to meet the accused.

While giving its verdict, the accountability court rejected NAB’s plea for extending the physical remand of the suspect and sent Ali Ahmed Khan to jail on a 14-day judicial remand.

READ: MORE REVELATIONS IN SHARIF BROTHERS’ TT SCANDAL

The accused thanked the accountability court for not extending the physical remand’s plea.

In September this year, it was reported that a money changer who used to send TTs in the name of the Sharif family from abroad is under the custody of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

While denying reports that NAB is investigating cases against Shehbaz Sharif and Suleiman Shehbaz over their London accounts, the sources said that they were rather investigating over Rs 200 billion transferred through TTs to the Sharif family members.

The money changer who facilitated the TTs for the Sharif family is under arrest, they said.

An approver in the TT case, Aftab Mahmood’s statement was also run during ARY NEWS programme, Power Play, that quoted him as saying that he was operating a money exchange in Britain from 2004 when his cousin Shahid Rafique asked him to facilitate some TTs in 2008.

The TTs were sent to the accounts of Sharif family members including Hamza Shehbaz, Suleiman Shehbaz, and others, and the names of the account beneficiaries, he said.

He further said that in 2008-09, he sent 24 fake TTs amounting to US$2.4 million. “I neither know the ones who were sent TTs nor they handed over the money to me,” he said adding that Shahid Rafiq received the cash.