An accountability court on Wednesday denied further custody of Maryam Nawaz and her cousin Yousaf Abbas in Chaudhry Sugar Mills (CSM) case and sent them to jail on judicial remand. The court observed that "the prosecution has already availed sufficient time for collection of evidence and documents". Earlier, the NAB prosecutor told the court that the latest investigation has revealed some new illegalities in distribution of wealth of the both suspects.
He said Maryam became the largest shareholder of the sugar mills in 2008 having over 12 million shares and her assets had been found disproportionate to her income during that period. He said Maryam acquired the shares from three foreign nationals Saeed Saif Bin Jabar Al-Sweidi, Hani Ahmad Jamjoom and Sheikh Zakauddin. The shares were later transferred to suspect Abbas and then to former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.
He said Maryam received Rs 160 million from a woman namely Siddiqa Saeed Mahmood in 1998 through telegraphic transfer (TT). The suspect failed to explain any relation with that woman. The prosecutor further said the CSM was shifted from Gojra to Rahim Yar Khan in 2015 with an expense of Rs 1.5 billion and this amount had not so far been justified by the suspects. He said further custody of the suspects was required for completion of the investigation.
The defence counsel argued that both Maryam and Abbas were minors when their late grandfather Haji Muhammad Sharif established the sugar mills in 1991. The defence counsel said late Sharif had transferred the shares of CSM. Rejecting an allegation of money laundering against Nawaz Sharif, he said the Sharif family had no shares in the mills since 2016. He said the financial affairs of the CSM had already been thoroughly investigated by a JIT formed by the Supreme Court in Panama Papers case.
He argued that all sale and purchase of the shares was in accordance with laws of Security Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) and the companies. He said power to investigate into any irregularity in regulatory affairs of a sugar mills vested with the SECP and such matters did not fall with the domain of the NAB. The counsel argued that the NAB invoked Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2010 to investigate transfer of shares which took place in 2008. The law could not be invoked retrospectively, he added.
He further said that the NAB lied about the woman namely Siddiqa as the matter relating to her transaction already stood settled by the Lahore High Court in Hudaibiya Papers Mills. He said the prosecution had been seeking remand of the suspects on last three hearings with no new ground. He said the NAB did not interrogate Maryam during the last seven days rather subjected her to humiliation and mental agony. Maryam when requested for her transfer to Kot Lakhpat Jail, the court advised her to approach the prison authorities.
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