Graft probe points finger at Pakistan PM Sharif
islamabad — An official investigation into corruption allegations against Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his family has found a “significant disparity” between their declared wealth and known sources of income.
Sharif, who has previously denied allegations of abusing his authority to enrich himself, has been under pressure since documents leaked in 2016 from a Panama-based law firm disclosed that his family had offshore accounts. —
islamabad — The Joint Investigation Team (JIT), which investigated the Sharif family’s business dealings to establish its sources of wealth, has recommended that the National Accountability Bureau open a reference against the prime minister and his family after it found glaring disparities between their known sources of income and their actual wealth, reports Dawn online.
The JIT’s report on the probe, sections of which circulated on Monday, suggests that a reference should be filed against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, his sons Hassan Nawaz and Hussain Nawaz, as well as daughter Maryam Nawaz under Section 9 of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) ordinance 1999.
The JIT has found that the assets of all four are more than the sources of their income and said that they were unable to provide substantive evidence of a reliable money trail.
“Significant gap/disparity amongst the declared sources of income and the wealth accumulated by the Respondent No. 1, 6, 7 and 8 have been observed,” the JIT observed in its concluding remarks. Respondent 1 refers to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif; Respondent 6 was Maryam Nawaz; Respondent 7 Hussain Nawaz; while Respondent 8 was Hassan Nawaz.
“The financial structure and health of companies in Pakistan having linkage to the Respondents also do no substantiate the wealth of the Respondents,” it continued.
“Moreover, irregular movement of huge amounts in shape of loans and gifts from Saudi Arabia-based company (Hill Metals Establishment), UK-based companies (Flagship Investments Limited and others) and UAE-based Company (Capital FZE) to Respondent No. 1, Respondent No. 7 and Pakistan-based companies of Respondent No. 1 and family have been highlighted.