NAB drops the last bomb shell on Nawaz Sharif

ISLAMABAD – Pakistan’s ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif owned plushapartments in London while holding public office, the investigating officerin the corruption cases against the Sharif family informed anaccountability court today.

Sharif and his family are facing three corruption cases in theAccountability Court-I after the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) filedreferences against them following the Supreme Court’s verdict in the PanamaPapers case.

The investigating officer Imran Dogar informed the court that the NABinvestigation proves that Sharif, 68, was the owner of the Avenfieldproperties, the London flats, while he was holding public office, the Dawnreported. Dogar stated that Sharif used offshore companies Nielsen andNescoll Ltd to buy the properties in London while he was the actual ownerof the apartments, it said.

He said that during investigations, the accused were unable to providetheir sources of income and that the properties have been in ownership ofthe Sharifs since 1993. He said the trust deeds submitted by Sharif’sdaughter Maryam Nawaz were proven to be fake, alleging that in acting asbenamidars for Sharif, his children Maryam, Hassan and Hussain aided theirfather in his crime.

“Investigations reveal that the accused were found involved in corruptionand corrupt practices,” Dogar said, adding that the accused had failed toappear before the NAB despite being notified twice — on August 18, 2017 andDecember 28, 2017.

Most of the findings submitted in the court today were also mentioned inthe joint investigation team (JIT) report presented to the Supreme Court inthe Panama Papers case last year and had led to the apex court ordering thefiling of references against Sharif, his children and former financeminister Ishaq Dar.

The trial against the Sharif family had commenced on September 14, 2017.

The corruption cases, filed against the Sharifs, pertain to the Al-AziziaSteel Mills and Hill Metal Establishment, offshore companies includingFlagship Investment Ltd, and Avenfield properties of London. Nawaz and sonsHussain and Hasan are accused in all three cases while his daughter Maryamand son-in-law Safdar are accused in the Avenfield case only.

Last month, the Supreme Court, in a landmark judgement, declared Sharifineligible to hold public office for life, ending the political future ofthe three-time premier ahead of this year’s general elections.

Sharif was disqualified to hold the office of the prime minister by theSupreme Court on July 28, 2017 in the Panama Papers case. He wasdisqualified for not being “honest and righteous” as he failed to declarein 2013 a salary he got from the company of his son in the UAE.

In February, the apex court also disqualified Sharif as the head of theruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).