ISLAMABAD: An accountability court on Friday returned a plea asking for permission to include incarcerated prime minister Nawaz Sharif into the inquiry of Chaudhry Sugar Mills.
Accountability Judge Muhammad Bashir directed the petitioner to approach Lahore’s accountability court in this regard as the case is under hearing there.
Earlier, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz appeared before the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) investigation team to record her statement in Chaudhry Sugar Mills Ltd. case.
During the appearance, the investigation team handed over a questionnaire to Maryam and summoned her again on August 8 as she was unable to account for her shares in Chaudhry Sugar Mills, reports emerged.
It is worth mentioning that the evidence against the owners of the sugar mills came to the fore during the investigation against National Assembly Opposition Leader Shehbaz Sharif and his sons Punjab Assembly Opposition Leader Hamza and Suleman in money laundering and income beyond means cases.
The NAB has purportedly traced numerous telegraphic transfers (TTs) worth millions of rupees by the Sharif family and the end beneficiaries allegedly included Maryam Nawaz and other owners/beneficiaries of the sugar mills.
In a call-up notice to Yousuf Abbas Sharif, the corruption watchdog had said: “The competent authority has taken the cognizance of offenses committed by the owners of the Chaudhry Sugar Mills under the provisions of the NAB Ordinance, 1999 and Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2010.”
The NAB asked him to “specify the channel through which payment was received for exports, including banking accounts where the payment was received, country of export, and the quality of sugar exported.”