Pak PM Shehbaz Sharif declared 'innocent' in money laundering case

In a major development in the money laundering case against Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his son Hamza, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has submitted a supplementary report declaring the father-son duo as "innocent.

The report was submitted to the Accountability Court and was presented during the hearing conducted by Judge Qamar-ul-Zaman.

The report, which was submitted on Monday, revealed that Shehbaz Sharif, Hamza Shehbaz, and others have been acquitted of all charges, Samaa TV reported.

During the hearing, Shehbaz Sharif's representative Anwar Hussain appeared in the court on behalf of the Prime Minister.

The case was filed by NAB, which alleged that Shehbaz Sharif and his family members were involved in money laundering and illegal transfer of funds through fake accounts.

In December 2020, the FIA had submitted a challan against the two PML-N leaders before the court for their alleged involvement in laundering an amount of 16 billion PKR in the sugar scam case, Samaa TV reported.

The investigation team has "detected 28 Benami (untitled) accounts of the Shehbaz family through which money laundering of 16.3 billion PKR was committed during 2008 to 2018".

It examined the money trail of 17,000 credit transactions.

Shehbaz and Hamza were booked in the case along with Suleman Shehbaz, who was absconding in the UK. Fourteen other people were also named in the FIR.

The report revealed that the amount was kept under "hidden accounts" which were given to Shehbaz Sharif in a personal capacity, Samaa TV reported.