Ex-Sindh CM granted bail in fake accounts scam

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday granted interim bail to former Sindh chief minister Qaim Ali Shah in a case pertaining to money laundering through fake accounts.

The court granted the bail after a division bench comprising Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Babar Sattar heard the former chief minister’s bail before arrest petition. The interim bail is effective until June 8 against Rs200,000 in surety bonds.

During preliminary arguments, Shah's counsel Barrister Qasim Nawaz told the court that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has issued three call-up notices to his client and against the public office holders and legal persons in connection with an investigation into the alleged fake bank accounts scam, misappropriation of land owned by the government and Pakistan Steel Mills.

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The court was requested to declare the notices as unlawful and grant bail till the final decision of the court.

The bench then issued notices to the NAB chairman, investigation officer and others, and directed them to submit a reply.

Hearing was adjourned until June 8.

The former chief minister has been named in a report compiled by the joint investigation team tasked with probing the fake accounts case. He was among 172 people named in the report who were to be placed on the Exit Control List.