LHC grants bail to Shehbaz Sharif in money laundering case

LAHORE: A full bench of the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday granted bail to Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif in the assets beyond means and money laundering case.

The bench directed the petitioner to submit two surety bonds of Rs 5 million each to avail the relief.

The bench, headed by Justice Syed Ali Baqar Najafi and comprising Justice Aalia Neelum and Justice Syed Shahbaz Ali Rizvi, heard the post-arrest bail petition, filed by Shehbaz Sharif.

As the proceedings started, a prosecutor for the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) submitted that petitioner's counsel, Azam Nazir Tarar, had referred to the decision of the division bench in his arguments, and stated that he never saw in the last 27 years that a decision had been changed after announcement. He submitted that the statement was tantamount to contempt of the court.

At this, Azam Nazir Tarar submitted that the NAB prosecutor had given a harsh statement and he should withdraw it.

The NAB prosecutor submitted that he could prove that the statement was contemptuous and it should be withdrawn.

Justice Aalia Neelum, a member of the bench, intervened at this stage and asked the parties for advancing arguments on the case only.

The prosecutor stated that Shehbaz Sharif became a public office-holder in 1990 when he possessed assets worth Rs 2.1 million. He submitted that the assets of the Shehbaz family rose to Rs 148 million in 1998, and then swelled to Rs 7 billion in 2018.

He submitted that the Shehbaz Sharif family started receiving telegraphic transfers (TTs) in 2005 and they developed assets from those amounts. He submitted that the Shehbaz family members were also nominated in the money laundering reference whereas they did not join the investigations, except for Hamza Shehbaz, and had been declared proclaimed offenders.

Justice Baqar Najafi asked whether NAB investigated the TTs and tried to know their sources.

The prosecutor replied that the statement of the cash boys were on the record for the purpose.

Shehbaz Sharif's counsel stated that the Bureau did not mention the source of the money in the reference.

The bench questioned that if Shehbaz Sharif had not been accused of misuse of power then how the Bureau could claim the assets were amassed through means beyond the known sources of income.

The prosecutor replied that assets of Shehbaz Sharif were more than his income. He submitted that Shehbaz Sharif earned profit of Rs 120 million from 2014 to 2018, but he never mentioned about the source of earning or his business.

The prosecutor further submitted that the matter was pending for only past seven months; therefore, there was no ground for the hardship. He pleaded with the bench to dismiss the petition.

Subsequently, the court, after hearing the arguments, granted bail to Shehbaz Sharif with a direction to submit surety bonds for the purpose.

A day earlier, the counsel for Shehbaz Sharif had concluded his arguments.

LHC Chief justice Muhammad Qasim Khan had formed the three-member bench to hear bail petition of Shehbaz Sharif after split decision of a division bench in the matter.