ISLAMABAD: Former Prime Minister and founder of PTI Imran Khan, and his wife Bushra Bibi were formally charged in a £190 million scandal reference case during a hearing held at the Adiala Jail accountability court on Tuesday.
The court has requested five witnesses to appear in the next hearing.
Presiding over the hearing in Adiala Jail, Accountability Court Judge Nasir Javed Rana announced the verdict.
Both Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi denied the charges brought against them by the prosecution.
Startling revelations have emerged from the investigation report into the £190 million scam case involving former Prime Minister Imran Khan and others.
The correspondence records with the UK’s National Crime Agency, maintained by the Asset Recovery Unit of the previous government, have mysteriously vanished. The report also confirms a meeting between Malik Riaz and former Prime Minister Imran Khan, along with former accountability adviser Shahzad Akbar, prior to the £190 million settlement.
According to the records from the PM House, the meeting took place on July 11, 2019.
The report alleges that the missing records, which were under the custody of Shahzad Akbar and Ziaul Mustafa Naseem, were deliberately removed to conceal illicit activities.
The disappearance of these records obstructed the investigation into the case, the report suggests, adding that the Cabinet Division conducted an inquiry into the missing documents.
Shahzad Akbar and Ziaul Mustafa Naseem have been held accountable for the loss of the records, as per the report.
The investigation report indicates that Asset Recovery Unit Secretary Manzoor Kayani confirmed the correspondence with the British NCA. The unit had sent letters to Usman Ahmed, the NCA’s country manager.
The first two letters informed the NCA about the property at 1 Hyde Park, London, and money laundering investigations. Following these letters, the NCA froze the UK bank accounts.
A third letter, dated April 18, 2019, provided surprising explanations to the NCA, the report reveals. On Shahzad Akbar’s instructions, the NCA was informed that Ali Malik Riaz had declared the 1 Hyde Park property and paid taxes as per Pakistani law.
The NCA was then informed that no further action could be taken regarding the property in Pakistan. The British agency was given the impression that there were no ongoing investigations against Bahria Town.
Prior to cabinet approval, the former accountability adviser had submitted a “Deed of Confidentiality” to the NCA on November 6, 2019, as per the report. Shahzad Akbar personally brought the summary to the Prime Minister’s House for cabinet approval, according to the report.
There is no existing record of the collection of this summary.
On Monday, an accountability court in Islamabad issued non-bailable arrest warrants against the former prime minister’s accountability adviser, Mirza Shahzad Akbar, property tycoon Malik Riaz, and four others in connection with the £190 million scandal reference.
Warrants were also issued for Ziaul Mustafa Naseem, former minister Zulfi Bukhari, Ahmed Ali Riaz, and Farhat Shehzadi alias Farah Gogi.
On December 2, a civil court in Islamabad declared ex-SAPM Akbar a “proclaimed offender” in the embezzlement case. Charges of fraud and other offenses had been filed against Akbar at the Secretariat Police Station in Islamabad.
Judge Ahmed Shahzad Gondal declared Akbar a “proclaimed offender” due to his persistent non-appearance.
