LAHORE: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has been granted permission to question incarcerated former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in the ongoing Chaudhry Sugar Mills case.
NAB prosecutor Hafiz Asad had earlier sought permission from the court to allow the Bureau to investigate the former PM. The court accepted the plea in light of recently found documents confirming Sharif as a beneficiary in the mills.
It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders Shehbaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz, Hamza Shehbaz and Yousaf Abbas are already under NAB investigations in the reference.
Sources claimed that NAB has traced a number of telegraphic transfers (TTs) from foreign countries to the former PM’s account.
Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Accountability Shahzad Akbar, in a press conference, had claimed that the Sharif family had used the Chaudhry Sugar Mills for money laundering and illegal transfer of its shares.
The probe revealed that a $15 million loan was taken for the apparent reason of setting up the mill despite the fact that the mill had already been established before the loan was granted, claimed Akbar. He said that according to the record of the State Bank of Pakistan, the loan was never transferred.
The special assistant to the PM added that around Rs7 million worth of the mills’ shares were transferred to PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz in 2008, which were later transferred to her cousin Yousaf Abbas in 2010.
