ISLAMABAD: A two-member bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday reserved the verdict on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan’s bail petition in the £190 million National Crime Agency (NCA) settlement reference.
The two-member bench was comprising Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, who reserved the verdict after the completion of arguments from both sides.
Earlier in his arguments, the National Accountability Bureau’s special prosecutor Amjad Parvez said that the amount should have come to the Government of Pakistan adding that the Supreme Court of Pakistan had mentioned in its order that the money belonged to the state of Pakistan.
He further said that the Asset Recovery Unit told the prime minister that it was their success in securing this money adding that “According to the documents, the money could not have been transferred without the permission of the National Crime Agency,”.
Meanwhile, the IHC chief justice asked the NAB special prosecutor if the money he referred to was the proceeds of crime.
While addressing the prosecutor, Justice Jahangiri, remarked: “You don’t have any documentation of this, it’s all verbal talk. You were earlier asked if you have the order of freezing or de-freezing [the accounts]. You said you don’t have any of those documents.”
The NAB lawyer was questioned about evidence of out-of-court settlements by both the judges.
“What would you (the prosecutor) say about the money transferred before the note given to the prime minister?” asked Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri.
To this, the NAB prosecutor said that the money was transferred after the confidentiality deed,” and the PTI founder was the head of the Assets Recovery Unit.
Justice Jahangiri, however, remarked that it was not written in the confidentiality deed that the money would be deposited in the Supreme Court’s account.
Later, after detailed arguments, the apex court reserved the verdict
Imran Khan on £190m Reference Case
Earlier on Monday, amid interacting with journalists in Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail, the PTI founder said that Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) had seized the amount after finding it “suspicious transactions” but not “money laundering”.
During the PTI government, the NCA seized assets worth £190 million from a property tycoon.
Khan further said that if the case went on in the civil court, the money would not return to Pakistan for another 5 years, as according to him a private party and the UK’s NCA had demanded not to disclose the agreement.
£190 Million Settlement Case
It is worth noting that the PTI chairman is facing corruption charges of billions of rupees in a case that also raised questions against a property tycoon.
Imran Khan, his wife Bushra Bibi and other PTI leaders are facing a NAB inquiry related to a settlement between the PTI government and that property tycoon, reportedly causing a loss of £190 million to the national exchequer.
According to details, Imran Khan and other accused allegedly adjusted Rs50 billion (£190 million) sent by Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) to the Pakistani government as part of the agreement with the relevant property tycoon.
The charges included accusations of getting undue favour and benefit in the form of over 458 kanals of land at Mouza Bakrala, Sohawa, to establish Al Qadir University.
The agency (NCA) said the assets would be transferred to the government of Pakistan and the settlement with the Pakistani property tycoon was “a civil matter, and does not represent a finding of guilt”.
Later, Imran Khan as a prime minister got approval for the settlement with the UK crime agency from his cabinet on December 3, 2019, without disclosing the details of the confidential agreement.
It was decided that the amount would be submitted to the Supreme Court on behalf of the tycoon.
Subsequently, the Al-Qadir Trust was established in Islamabad a few weeks after the PTI-led government approved the agreement with the concerned property tycoon.
Bushra Bibi, Farah Khan, Zulfi Bukhari and Babar Awan were appointed as members of the trust.
Two to three months after the cabinet’s approval, the property tycoon transferred 458 canals of land to Zulfi Bukhari, a close aide of Imran Khan, which he later transferred to the trust.
Later, Bukhari and Awan opted out as the trustees. That trust is now registered in the names of Imran Khan, Bushra Bibi and Farah Khan.
