-Ali Tareen, Hamza, Salman Shehbaz also include in money laundering, fraud charges
From Abid Usman
LAHORE: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has booked PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif, his sons Hamza and Salman, PTI leader Jahangir Khan Tareen and his son Ali Tareen on charges of money laundering and fraud.
All accused are currently being investigated for their alleged involvement in the sugar scandal and money laundering. The FIA filed separate FIRs against them under various sections of Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).
According to investigators, a cumulative sum of Rs25 billion was deposited in the Sharif Group’s bogus companies from 2008 to 2018. The amount was transferred into the bank accounts of Ramazan and Al-Arabia sugar mills’ employees.
The employees admitted that the accounts were opened for Salman’s covert money transfers, the FIA said.
Whereas Jahangir Khan Tareen and his son are accused of submitting a bogus report about a business deal. His JDW bought JKSFL for Rs4.35 billion and submitted a forged report about the deal, the FIA said, adding the JDW committed fraud by using public shareholders’ money for the purchase.
The sections under which the case has been lodged against the father-son duo include 406 (punishment for criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating), and 109 (abetment) among others.
Earlier Thursday, FIA was stopped by a court from taking action against Jahangir Khan Tareen, and the family of PML-N chief Shehbaz Sharif in a sugar scam worth more than Rs 400 billion..
A division bench comprising Justices Shahid Karim and Sajid Mahmood Sethi of Lahore High Court struck down the case filed by the Security and Exchange Commission of Pakistan against JDW Sugar Mills and Farooqi Pulp Mills of Tareen and Al-Arabia Sugar Mills of Shehbaz’s family on the basis of “procedural unfairness and for being a dictated exercise”.
“SECP can initiate proceeding afresh according to law,” the bench said.
Tareen and Shehbaz had approached the high court against multiple actions of the SECP and FIA in the sugar scam. The court observed that the FIA call-up notices to the owners and staff of the sugar mills in question do not make a reference to the sugar inquiry commission’s report and proceed on the basis of information available with the investigation team regarding money laundering and financial or corporate fraud.
The petitioners said the inquiry commission had made baseless allegations of committing corporate fraud on their sugar mills.
