In the £190 million settlement case, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Friday filed a corruption reference against Imran Khan, the former prime minister, and his spouse.
Geo News reports that the reference was submitted before an accountability court in Islamabad by Deputy Prosecutor General Muzafar Abbasi of the NAB and Investigative Officer Umar Nadeem. The reference is being examined by the registrar’s office.
In addition to Imran Khan and his spouse, the reference names three other suspects in addition to PTI leaders Zulfi Bukhari, Shahzad Akbar, and Barrister Zia-ul-Mustafa Nazeer.
The reference lists eight names in all.
The reference was filed a few days after the PTI chairman’s jail trial in corruption cases was authorized by the federal cabinet.
The News claims that the Ministry of Law and Justice’s cabinet summary was authorized through distribution.
Given the state of law and order, the anti-graft watchdog had asked the ministry to permit the trial to take place at Adiala jail.
The PTI chairman’s trial in the £190 million National Crime Agency (NCA), UK, and Toshakhana case had previously been announced by the government.
The ministry’s notice from November 28 stated that the accused would be tried in Central Prison, Adiala, by the accountability court in question.
Under Section 16(b) of the NAB Ordinance, 1999, the notification stated, “The federal government is pleased to accord approval that the accountability court concerned shall sit and conduct the trial of the accused (PTI chairman and former PM) and others in Central Prison, Adiala, with reference to the case regarding misuse of authority/illegal sale of gifted state assets, etc.”
The PTI chairman is accused of stealing billions of rupees in a case that also involves a real estate magnate.
An NAB investigation into a deal between the PTI administration and the real estate mogul, which allegedly resulted in a loss of £190 million to the national exchequer, is being pursued against Khan, his wife Bushra Bibi, and other PTI figures.
According to the allegations, as part of the deal with the property tycoon, Khan and the other defendants allegedly altered Rs50 billion, or £190 million at the time, handed to the Pakistani government by the National Crime Agency (NCA) of Britain.
In addition, they are charged with receiving an excessive advantage for establishing Al Qadir University on more than 458 kanals of property in Mouza Bakrala, Sohawa.
The property tycoon in Britain had assets valued at 190 million pounds seized by the NCA during the PTI government.
According to the agency, the settlement with the Pakistani property tycoon was “a civil matter, and does not represent a finding of guilt,” and the assets would be given to the government of Pakistan.
On December 3, 2019, the then-prime minister Khan received cabinet approval for the settlement with the UK crime agency without sharing the specifics of the classified deal.
It was determined that the tycoon would present the funds to the Supreme Court.
A few weeks after the PTI-led government authorized the arrangement with the property mogul, the Al-Qadir Trust was founded in Islamabad.
Members of the trust were Bushra Bibi, Zulfi Bukhari, Babar Awan, and her close friend Farah Khan.
The property tycoon gave 458 canals of land to Bukhari, a close associate of the PTI president, two to three months after the cabinet approved the transfer. Bukhari then transferred the land to the trust.
Subsequently, Awan and Bukhari chose not to continue as trustees. Farah, Bushra Bibi, and Khan are the names on the trust that is now registered.
Earlier, NAB investigators were looking into possible power abuses throughout the process of recovering “dirty money” that was obtained from the UK law enforcement agency.
Once “irrefutable evidence” came to light in the case, the question became an investigation.
In exchange for striking an agreement to give legal cover to the property tycoon’s black money obtained from the UK crime agency, Khan and his wife allegedly obtained land worth billions of rupees from the property tycoon to develop an educational institute.
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