ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Friday filed four corruption references against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, his three children and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar in compliance with the Supreme Court verdict in the Panama Papers case on July 28.
The references were approved at a much-awaited meeting of NAB’s executive board presided over by its Chairman Qamar Zaman Chaudhry on Thursday.
At least 12 cartons full of documents from NAB’s regional offices were brought by the prosecution team amidst tight security for submitting them in Islamabad’s accountability court-I and II.
However, just an hour later news channels reported that the accountability court registrar had deemed the references “incomplete” after scrutiny. It was said that the registrar objected that NAB had not provided complete copies [of the references] to the court, rendering them incomplete.
It was said that the registrar had raised objections to the reference pertaining to Azizia Steel Mills and directed NAB to submit additional documents in this regard.
The accountability watchdog was quick to respond to the news.
In a statement to the media, a NAB spokesman said that all the corruption references have been accepted for trial and nothing has been sent back by the court.
The Sharif family and Dar can face up to 14 years imprisonment, heavy fines, and freezing of property if the accountability courts rule that a violation of Section 9 of the NAB Ordinance 1999 has taken place as suggested in the report of the Panamagate Joint Investigation Team (JIT). Moreover, the accused may also be disqualified from holding public office for life if found guilty.
After the Supreme Court announced Sharif’s disqualification as prime minister, NAB was ordered to file references against the former PM, his children, son-in-law, and Dar. The bureau was given six weeks, from the date of the court’s order, to file the references in accountability courts.
NAB’s Rawalpindi branch prepared references regarding the Azizia Steel Mills and the nearly dozen companies owned by the Sharif family. The bureau’s Lahore branch prepared a reference on the Sharif family’s Avenfield apartments in London and another against Dar for owning assets beyond his known sources of income.
“It was decided to file four references in the accountability courts in Islamabad/Rawalpindi. The references were prepared on the basis of the material collected and referred to by the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) in its report and any other material collected by NAB during the course of investigation,” said a NAB press release on Thursday.
No decision was taken about the possible arrest of the Sharif family members and putting their names on the Exit Control List (ECL) as the NAB chairman had reportedly refused to do so. Usually, the anti-graft watchdog itself issues arrest orders for the accused even in petty white-collar crime cases. However, the ball is in the judges’ court now and they can order the arrest of the former prime minister and his children and even Dar.
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The SC had ordered NAB to file a reference against Nawaz, Maryam, Hussain, Hasan and Capt (r) Safdar, relating to the Avenfield properties (flats 16, 16-A, 17 and 17-A Avenfield House, Park Lane, London, United Kingdom).
“In preparing and filing this Reference, the NAB shall also consider the material already collected during the course of investigations conducted earlier, as indicated in the detailed judgments,” the court ruled.
The court also ordered the filing of a reference against Nawaz, Hussain and Hasan regarding the Azizia Steel Company and Hill Metal Establishment.
The court had also called for filing a reference against Dar for possessing assets and funds beyond his known sources of income.
The SC also ordered NAB to include in its proceedings all other persons, including Sheikh Saeed [nephew of Dar’s wife], Musa Ghani [son of a retired officer from London Stock Exchange], Kashif Masood Qazi [Nawaz’s friend], Javaid Kiyani, and National Bank of Pakistan President Saeed Ahmed, who have any direct or indirect nexus or connection with the actions of Nawaz, Hussain, Hasan, Maryam and Dar, leading to acquisition of assets and funds beyond their known sources of income.
A reference was also ordered against Nawaz, Hussain and Hasan regarding the companies mentioned in paragraph nine of the judgment in the Panama Papers case.
The court also gave NAB the option to file supplementary reference(s) “if and when any other asset, which is not prima facie reasonably accounted for, is discovered”.
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