Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Accountability Shahzad Akbar said on Saturday that the Assets Recovery Unit is referring the case of a new London property belonging to the Sharif family to National Accountability Bureau (NAB). Addressing a press conference, Akbar along with Special Assistant to PM Iftikhar Durrani said that a flat in London under the name of late Begum Kulsoom Nawaz, wife of ex-premier Nawaz Sharif, has been unearthed by media.
The flat had a current value of 2.2 or 2.3 million pounds, he said, adding that Nawaz Sharif, being the premier and member of National Assembly, had not declared the ownership of the flat. He said that this declaration could have been made in two ways: on a wealth statement that every citizen is required to submit while declaring his/her spouse's assets; or as a member of the parliament in the Election Commission of Pakistan's (ECP) forms.
There is also an annual declaration submitted in the assembly, he said, adding that further investigation of assets beyond known income should be carried out by NAB while tax related liability has been given to the Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR).
Akbar added that they have also asked Britain for fresh ownership documents of the concerned property, adding that according to the land registry, in August 2016 this property was transferred to Hassan Nawaz's name. The latest date for its sale is March 2018, he added.
He also accused Shehbaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz of misusing government planes for travelling. A probe will also be carried out in Rs 600 million Shehbaz spent on air travels, he added. Moreover, Rs 275 million were spent on Nawaz's Jati Umra residence out of national exchequer, he said. Akbar said that details of expenditure by Nawaz and Shehbaz have been sent to the NAB.