Times of Islamabad

Stunning revelations of Sharif family money laundering worth Rs 22 billion

Stunning revelations of Sharif family money laundering worth Rs 22 billion

LAHORE – Adviser to Prime Minister on Accountability and Interior MirzaShahzad Akbar on Thursday disclosed that Rs15 billion had been deposited inthe fake accounts of 12 lower grade employees of the Sharif Group from 2008to 2018, while Rs 7 billion were deposited in six fake companies’ accounts.

Addressing a press conference at 90 Shahra-e-Quaid-i-Azam here, he saidthat Shehbaz Sharif was facing mental unrest. He accused PML-N president ofholding secret meetings in NAB custody.

Giving details of alleged corruption of Sharifs, Akbar said that duringthese years, a high turnover of Rs15 billion was found in the bank accountsof 12 low-paid workers of Ramzan and Al-Arabia sugar mills.

The details of these account holders and deposited money is as under: Rs3.7billion had been deposited in the bank account of Malik Maqsood between2016-17, a tea boy/peon in the Sharif Group, and the person escaped to theUnited Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2018 when the National Accountability Bureau(NAB) started investigation against Suleman Shehbaz.

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From 2014 to 2017, Rs2.3 billion had been deposited in the bank account ofMuhammad Aslam, a peon at the Ramzan Sugar Mills; from 2011 to 2014, Rs1.67billion were deposited in the bank account of Azhar Abbas, a clerk atRamzan Sugar Mills; from 2012 to 2014, Rs1.57 billion were deposited in theaccount of Ghulam Shabbar, another clerk at Ramzan Sugar Mill; from 2010 to2014, Rs 1.42 billion were deposited in the account of yet another clerk,Khizar Hayat Nazar of Ramzan Sugar Mills; from 2012 to 2015, Rs 1.18billion were deposited in the account of Iqrar Hussain, a clerk at RamzanSugar Mills, from 2011 to 2015, Rs880 million were stashed in the accountof Muhammad Anwar, another clerk of Ramzan Sugar Mills, Rs562 million weredeposited in the bank account of Tauqeeruddin, Manager Sales at Ramzan andAl-Arabia sugar mills, from 2012-13, Rs512 million were deposited in theaccount of Tanveer-ul-Haq, a data entry operator at Sharif Group; Rs461million were deposited in the account of Kashif Majeed, accounts clerk ofRamzan Sugar Mills, from 2012 to 2017, Rs425 million were deposited in theaccount of the late Gulzar Ahmad Khan, a peon of Ramzan Sugar Mills.

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Rs15b deposited in fake accounts of 12 Sharif Group employees; Rs 7b in sixfake companies’ accounts

Shahzad Akbar said that even after the death of Gulzar Ahmad Khan inFebruary 7, 2015, a trustworthy cashier of Sharif Group kept on operatinghis account.

From 2009 to 2011, Rs230 million were deposited in the account of MasroorAnwar, a trustworthy cash boy of the Sharif family.

Sharif Group Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Muhammad Usman opened theseaccounts for personal transactions of Suleman Shahbaz Sharif, he added.

He further said that Rs22 billion were not business or sugar-related money,adding that forensic of these accounts had been carried out. “Perhaps onlyRs3 billion might be linked with sugar-related business while the rest ofthe amount was not linked with any business,” he added.

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He said that a big portion of the money was taken from contractors,businessmen, politicians or as patronage extortion.

Shahzad Akbar said that parallel banking was practiced in certain bankbranches in connection with money laundering.

About fake companies, he revealed that from 2010 to 2018, Rs7 billion hadbeen deposited in six fake companies.

He said that proprietors of these companies were lower salaried people ofthe Sharif Group or had fake identities. “These companies were notregistered with the Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) andthe Federal Board of Revenue (FBR),” Adviser to the PM disclosed.

For opening of these accounts, Akbar added, fake letter heads of fakecompanies were used and banks failed to properly investigate while openingthe accounts.