Shahzad Akbar says there is no case of money laundering against Shehbaz in London

ISLAMABAD: Adviser to Prime Minister on Accountability and Interior Affairs Barrister Mirza Shahzad Akbar says there is no case of money laundering against Shahbaz Sharif in London.
Addressing a news conference in Islamabad on Tuesday, Shahzad Akbar said media reports about acquittal of Shahbaz Sharif from money laundering case are wrong. The Adviser said the National Crime Agency of the United Kingdom is inquiring the two suspicious transactions of Suleman Shahbaz account.
Shahzad Akbar said National Accountably Bureau (NAB) is inquiring money laundering of seven billion rupees of Shahbaz Sharif while Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) is also investigating fake transaction of twenty five billion rupees.
Shahzad Akbar said that a recent order by a court in the United Kingdom did not mention Shehbaz Sharif, adding that he had not been acquitted of money laundering charges.
In a virtual press conference on Tuesday Mirza Shahzad Akbar pointed out that there was no asset freezing order (AFO) against Shehbaz Sharif in the UK. He said that the PML-N president was not mentioned in the UK court’s order nor had he been acquitted of any charges.
“Shehbaz was not facing money laundering charges in London but despite this, the lifting of an AFO was presented [by the PML-N] as if he was acquitted in a money laundering case.”
Shahzad Akbar called upon the journalist community to peruse the order and see whether Shehbaz’s name had been mentioned. He also shared the document on Twitter and said: “Cheap tricks won’t work. Shehbaz still need[s] to answer in courts in Pakistan.”
According to the court order, the AFOs were placed by a Westminster court on December 17, 2019, on the bank accounts of Suleman and Zulfiquar Ahmed. It said that the AFOs were set aside after the NCA filed an application.
Shahzad Akbar also pointed out that it was being portrayed as if the Asset Recovery Unit (ARU) or the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had initiated the investigation in the first place, terming it “incorrect and misreporting”.
He said that the NCA had contacted the institutions and asked for details of criminal inquiries and convictions against the individuals being investigated.
He said that the ARU had answered the NCA’s queries in a letter and provided various details on pending investigations concerning Shehbaz and his family in 2019.
He said the entirety of the letter was not being shared and said that Pakistan was only providing assistance to the investigation in the UK.
The accountability czar also pointed out that according to information shared with the government, lifting the AFO did not mean that the funds under investigation were legitimate, but merely that the investigation was not being pursued any further.
“What was most surprising […] is that the case is against Suleman and the AFO was issued against him, but the narrative being built since yesterday is that Shehbaz has been vindicated. How has he been vindicated?”
He said that Shehbaz was celebrating the court order about his son as a victory, but had disassociated himself from his family members and their affairs during ongoing inquiries in Pakistan.
He pointed out that the PML-N president and his sons were currently facing money laundering charges in Pakistan and lambasted efforts to create a “false narrative”.
“There is an effort under way to create a false narrative by twisting facts and this narrative cannot be made,” he said, adding that it was one thing for the PML-N to form its own narrative but it was “saddening” when some individuals colluded and cooperated with them.
He turned his guns to one media house in particular, stating that it “shifted narratives as it pleased” and called it a clear example of fake news.
The accountability czar called on journalists to report the facts as they are instead of distorting them. “No one can stop journalists from their responsibility — not any law or any institution,” he said.
Regarding any possible legal action, he said lawyers would be consulted on the matter. Shahzad Akbar also called on Shehbaz to approach the courts and submit an application if he considered himself to be acquitted of all charges.
“What is stopping them, this is very simple. It’s been almost two years and if no court has acquitted him, it means that the cases [against him] are strong.”
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