Rs16 billion money laundering case: PM Shehbaz appears before court, terms case as ‘fake’

A special court in Lahore adjourned the hearing till October 8 in a Rs16 billion money laundering case filed by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) against Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif and his son, Hamza Shehbaz.

The court also directed the lawyer to submit additional details on the acquittal plea by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders.

In the hearing which took place on Friday (today), PM’s son Hamza Shehbaz did not appear before the court as he had sought exemption on medical grounds. However, PM Shehbaz appeared before the court but later sought exemption as he had “important” matters to attend to.

PM’s lawyer Amjad Pervaiz told the court that the first information report (FIR) registered against his clients mentioned they were involved in money laundering worth Rs25 billion from 2008-2018 through fake companies. However, he said, “During this 10-year span, PM Shehbaz was neither the director nor a shareholder of those companies.”

PM Shehbaz also spoke before the court, stating that the money laundering case against him is “fake”.

He claimed that when he was Chief Minister (CM) for 20 years he had made decisions that “hurt” his family’s sugar business. “I was requested to provide subsidy to sugar mills, but I refused. I refused as the amount (that would be used for subsidy) belonged to the poor people in Punjab,” he declared to the court.

Later, he sought an exemption from the court which was granted to him. After Shehbaz left, the court went on a break.

Once the hearing resumed, the lawyer presented his arguments again. Then, the court adjourned the hearing till October 8 and asked him to continue deliberations at the next hearing.

In 2021, the FIA submitted a challan against Shehbaz and Hamza to the special court for their alleged involvement in laundering Rs16 billion in a sugar scam.

The report added that the amount was kept in “hidden accounts” and “given to Shehbaz in a personal capacity”.

At the time, FIA had said that the amount of Rs16 billion has nothing to do with the sugar business of Shehbaz’s family. The money allegedly received from the accounts of low-wage employees was transferred outside Pakistan, ultimately destined for the beneficial use of his family members.