Two leading British dailies said on Saturday that spouse of Benazir Bhutto, Asif Ali Zaradri, after years of denial, has admitted owning Surrey Palace in the UK which, the government said, was purchased by corruption money.
Asif has been denying that he purchased a grand Rockwood Estate, popularly known in Pakistan as his 'Surrey Palace', in the UK. The government has been saying that three offshore companies, registered in the Isle of Man, were floated to hide the real beneficiaries of Surrey Palace--Benazir and Asif Zardari--and that it was allegedly purchased from corruption money.
One of the leading British dailies, The Guardian, in a lengthy article on Saturday said: "The jailed husband of former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto has admitted owning a pound sterling 4.35 million estate in Surrey which the Pakistani authorities say was bought with the proceeds of corruption."
"Asif Zardari, who was investment minister in his wife's government and acquired the nickname 'Ten Percent', had previously denied any connection with Rockwood Estate, which includes a 20-room mansion and two farms on 365 acres land," it said.
It said: "The property was sold by a liquidator last month and the effect of Zardari's sudden U-turn is to block--at least for the time being--efforts by Pakistan to collect its share of the proceeds."
"The deal needed approval from a Manx court and when the case came up before Deemster (Judge) Kerruish last Monday, a lawyer representing Zardari objected," said the daily.
"He told the court Zardari, who is serving a jail sentence in Pakistan for corruption, was the beneficial owner of Rockwood Estate and was willing to pay off some of the creditors. He asked for eight weeks to provide evidence of Zardari's ownership. The judge adjourned the case until December 20." "According to the Pakistani government, Zardari and/or Ms Bhutto bought Rockwood Estate in 1995 during her second term as prime minister and disguised the ownership through three companies registered in the Isle of Man, which in turn were owned by trusts," it said.
"When newspaper reports first linked Ms Bhutto and her husband with the property, they both issued denials," said The Guardian
The British paper quoted Zardari as saying indignantly: "How can anyone think of buying a mansion in England when people in Pakistan don't even have a roof over their heads?
"Ms Bhutto continues to deny her involvement."
"Soon after the purchase of the estate, an extravagant refurbishment programme began, during which Paul Keating, a builder who worked on the project, met Zardari several times and received instructions from him," said the paper.
The Guardian said: "While Keating was working at Rockwood, crates of artefacts weighing 7.5 tonnes arrived by air from Pakistan. They contained 14 antique rifles, 19 bundles of carpets, furniture--including a nine-metre (30ft) cut glass Italian table--,a stuffed tiger, wood carvings, statues, and 16 oil paintings. Some of the rifles were engraved with Zardari's name."
"Building work continued through the spring and summer of 1996. There were plans for a helipad, a nine-hole golf course, an extension to the indoor swimming pool and a paddock for the polo ponies."
"The bathrooms were decorated with marble; doors were covered in copper and the master bedroom was reinforced with girders to protect it against bombs," said the paper.
In November 1996, after three years in power, Benazir's government was dismissed by Pakistan president for "corruption, misrule and nepotism", it said.
"One of several accusations against her and her husband is that they took illegal commissions from companies carrying out customs inspections of goods being imported into Pakistan. According to documents cited in a Swiss court last year, commissions totalling $ 8.2 million (£ 4.5 m) were paid to Bomer Finance Inc, a company registered in the British Virgin Islands," it said.
"Although Zardari was described as the beneficial owner of Bomer Finance, the court heard that Ms Bhutto had been the only person to make use of its funds before they were frozen at the request of the Pakistani authorities. She allegedly bought a £ 117,000 diamond necklace from a Knightsbridge jeweller with money from Bomer."
"She and her husband dispute these charges and the Swiss case is continuing."
"Refurbishment at Rockwood stopped abruptly about the time Ms Bhutto fell from power. Keating refused to budge from the estate, claiming non-payment for work he had done. He eventually left last month after it was bought by a local businessman," said The Guardian.
He was quoted as saying by The Guardian that he had received a cheque for £ 500,000, with a promise of £ 150,000 to come.
"Towards the end of last year a liquidator for the three Manx companies (Romina Properties, Winkford Farm and Parsonage Farm) reached a compromise with various claimants for disposing of the proceeds of the Rockwood sale. After paying creditors, the remaining money--believed to be most of the £ 4.35 million sale price--would go to the Pakistani government," it said
Another leading British daily The Independent said on Saturday that this week "the saga of what the Pakistani media refers to as the 'Surrey Palace' took a surprising turn when a lawyer for Zardari told a court on the Isle of Man that his client was the 'beneficial owner' of Rockwood House and intended to retain it."
"This could prove problematic, since the mansion was sold last week for £ 4 million by the liquidator realising the assets of the three Isle of Man companies after they left creditors, including the builder who renovated the property, with debts of at least £ 500,000. The Pakistani government has struck a deal with the liquidator, subject to the approval of an Isle of Man judge, to retain the balance of the proceeds after all creditors have been paid," it said.
"Alan Perry, the London-based lawyer retained by the Pakistani government's National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to pursue its claim of ownership of Rockwood House and the adjoining properties, including two farms, was quoted as saying by the British daily, "These properties were acquired during a period when Ms Bhutto was in office. They have just been sold by the liquidator."
"The government of Pakistan has been saying for years that these properties were acquired with the benefit of corruption, and that the real beneficiaries behind the [Isle of Man] trusts and companies were Ms Bhutto and Zardari," said the paper.
It said: "The Pakistani government says she and her husband, known as 'Ten Percent' for the commissions he allegedly took on contracts while industry minister during his wife's second term, were sacked for "corruption, misrule and nepotism".
The British paper said: " NAB says the couple salted away £ 830 million and have 26 international bank accounts and 14 properties, including the Kensington flat where Ms Bhutto lives while in London."
Continuing the daily said: "Paul Keating, the builder incharge of the renovation, said Zardari told him the project was 'top secret', and eight crates of artefacts, including antique rifles and a stuffed Bengal tiger, arrived in spring 1996 from the Bhuttos' home in Karachi."
The Independent said: "After eight years of denial and dogged investigation, the nine-bedroom house has finally been revealed as a key part of a labyrinthine corruption allegation that links the Isle of Man, a stuffed Bengal tiger and Benazir Bhutto, the former prime minister of Pakistan."
"Ms Bhutto's government was dismissed in 1996 amid claims that Rockwood House, overlooking the South Downs close to Guildford, had been bought by her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, with money made illegally as investment minister during his wife's premiership."
"Zardari, who is in jail on corruption charges, has always denied owning the property," said The Independent.
Benazir was quoted as saying by the paper that her husband had told her on "10 occasions" that he had not bought the house, and she said she had never been to Surrey."
Comments
Comments are closed.