Accounts of 8 firms de-frozen in case against PM

Court seeks arguments on the acquittal pleas of the accused in money laundering case

LAHORE:

 

The special central court judge de-froze the bank accounts of eight companies on Monday, which were allegedly linked to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s son Suleman Shehbaz Sharif in the money laundering case.

The court also summoned Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, former chief minister Hamza Shehbaz and other accused on September 30 for initiating the proceeding of “framing charges” in the Rs16 billion money laundering case.

Judge Ijaz Hassan Awan heard an application against the freezing of bank accounts of some companies. The court was requested to de-freeze the accounts of nine companies for the payment of salaries to employees and routine expenditures to run the businesses.

The counsel for the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) implored to the court that the employees of those companies were facing difficulties, adding that Suleman Shehbaz had nothing to do with these accounts.

Meanwhile, the court sought arguments from the lawyers on the acquittal pleas of the accused. The court also accepted the requests of Prime Minister Shehbaz and his son Hamza Shehbaz for exemption from personal appearance in the court.

The court was informed that the prime minister was on an official visit abroad, adding that Hamza Shehbaz was not in good health. The counsel also submitted a doctor's report, requesting the court for exempting them from personal attendance.

FIA’s case

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had registered a case against Shehbaz and his sons, Hamza and Suleman, in November 2020 under the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Anti Money Laundering Act.

In December 2021, the FIA had submitted the challan against Shehbaz and Hamza. The FIA report alleged that 28 benami accounts of the Shehbaz family had been detected by the investigators through which Rs16.3 billion was laundered during 2008-18 period.