Senator Dar`s handwritten statement, given before a magistrate back on April 25, 2000, had alleged that Sharif brothers used the Hudaibya Paper Mills as cover for money laundering during the late 1990s.
The reference was prepared on the orders of then president Pervez Musharraf, but it was shelved after the Sharif brothers went into exile in December of the same year.
The Musharraf government tried to reopen the reference in 2007 after Nawaz Sharif announced his return to the country.
The confessional statement of Senator Ishaq Dar was recorded before a district magistrate in Lahore. He was brought to the court from a jail by Basharat Shahzad, who was then serving as assistant director in the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).
According to legal experts, the senator`s deposition was an `irrevocable statement` as had been recorded under section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).
Senator Ishaq Dar has always been regarded as one of the closest aides of the Sharif family, and is now also a relative as his son is married to Nawaz Sharif`s younger daughter.
However, the NAB record clearly shows that back in 2000 he had agreed to give a written statement against the Sharifs about their alleged involvement in money laundering.
The top PML-N leaders had hit a rough patch by then as some of their lieutenants were busy developing a new political system for Gen Pervez Musharraf after his Oct 1999 military coup.
In the statement, Ishaq Dar accused Nawaz and Shahbaz Sharif of money laundering in the Hudaibiya Paper Mills case. At one point in the 43-page statement, Mr Dar said that on the instructions of Mian Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif, “I opened two foreign currency accounts in the name of Sikandara Masood Qazi and Talat Masood Qazi with the foreign currency funds provided by the Sharif family in the Bank of America by signing as Sikandara Masood Qazi and Talat Masood Qazi”.
He said that all instructions to the bank in the name of these two persons were signed by him under the orders of “original depositors”, namely Mian Nawaz Sharif and Mian Shahbaz Sharif.
“The foreign currency accounts of Nuzhat Gohar and Kashif Masood Qazi were opened in Bank of America by Naeem Mehmood under my instructions (based on instructions of Sharifs) by signing the same as Nuzhat Gohar and Kashif Masood Qazi.”
The document shows Dar stated that besides these foreign currency accounts, a previously opened foreign currency account of Saeed Ahmed, a former director of First Hajvari Modaraba Co and close friend of Dar, and of Mussa Ghani, the nephew of Dar`s wife, were also used to deposit huge foreign currency funds provided by “the Sharif family” to offer them as collateral to obtain different direct and indirect credit lines.
Senator Dar had disclosed that the Bank of America, Citibank, Atlas Investment Bank, Al Barka Bank and Al Towfeeq Investment Bank were used under the instructions of the Sharif family.
Interestingly enough, Ishaq Dar also implicated himself by confessing in court that he — along with his friends Kamal Qureshi and Naeem Mehmood — had opened fake foreign currency accounts in different international banks.
Mr Dar said an amount of $3.725 million in Emirates Bank, $ 8.539 million in Al Faysal Bank and $2.622 million were later transferred in the accounts of the accounts Hudaibya Paper Mills.
He said that the entire amount in these banks finally landed in the accounts of the paper mills.
The Hudaibiya Paper Mills case is still pending in the National Accountability Bureau.
If it is opened again, the Sharif brothers may be in for a rude shock a confidant is to blame for the albatross around their necks.
In this regard Dawn made repeated efforts to contact Senator Dar on telephone, but without luck as his mobile number was switched off and he did not reply to text messages.
Archive Article: DAWN
By Azaz Syed
November 13th, 2009
NAB launches $32 million money laundering scandal inquiry against Nawaz Sharif
ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Thursday said it has started investigations against the Sahrif brothers in a $32 million money laundering scandal.
“The reference against Sharif brothers was sent by Interior Minister Rehman Malik and it will be decided on merit,” NAB spokesman Zafar Iqbal said while addressing a media briefing at the NAB headquarters. Replying to a question about the reports that President Asif Ali Zardari has directed the NAB chairman to initiate an inquiry against the Sharifs and reopen pending cases against them, the spokesman said the president had only directed the NAB chairman to ensure that there was no political victimisation. Malik had earlier claimed he had evidence to prove that the PML-N leaders were involved in laundering $32 million.
Iqbal said NAB has so far recovered Rs 2.012 billion from Rental Power Plants (RPPs) on the directives of the Supreme Court (SC). Giving details, he said Rs 109 million were recovered from Pakistan Power House and Walter International, Rs 546 million from Techno Engineering, Rs 50 million from Young Generation, Rs 225 million from Gulf company and Rs 100 million from Reshma company. The bureau has recorded the statements of former power minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Shaukat Tareen and Liaquat Jatoi, but no money has been recovered from them, he said, adding the three will be summoned again if needed.
The NAB spokesman said the Interior Ministry has not yet put the names of ministers involved in RPPs’ case on the Exit Control List (ECL) despite a request by NAB. Responding to a question, he said that nobody has been given clean chit in the case, rather NAB is in the process of recovery from the RPPs. Moreover, the bureau has also sent its teams to inspect the sites of RPPs and teams are busy finalising their reports. Iqbal said NAB was in contact with an army team questioning generals named in NLC corruption reference.
source: http://dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2012 518story_18-5-2012_pg1_1
Tags: corruption, money laundering, NAB
Posted in Corruption, Money Laundering | 1 Comment »
Documents Point To Sharifs $32 Million Corruption Scandal
Following documents have been placed before the Supreme Court and National Accountability Bureau (NAB) alleging Nawaz Sharif involvement in $32 millions corruption scandal.
Tags: corruption, mehran bank, money laundering
Posted in Corruption | 2 Comments »
Sharifs responsible for energy crisis
KARACHI: The present energy crisis could be linked to perceived myopic policies of former premier and PML-N chief Mian Nawaz Sharif when he ended the energy projects of Thar coal and Keti Bandar initiated by slain premier Benazir Bhutto, Sindh Minister for Information Sharjeel Inam Memon said on Monday.
Speaking at a press conference at the New Sindh Secretariat, the minister responding to allegations of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said that the then PPP-led government had started work for utilisation of the Thar coal reserves for power generation. He added that the myopic policies of subsequent government led by PML-N resulted in scrapping of the same, otherwise now the country would have been in a position to export power.
After coming into power, the present government has revived the Thar coal project and has given preference to small power projects up to 10 megawatts in the country especially in Sindh to overcome the power crisis. He regretted that Sharif rothers tended to do politics on sensitive issues like rain devastation in Sindh province. Memon said that it was not easy task to provide relief of over eight million displaced persons but the government is utilising all available resources for relief and rehabilitation of the victims.
The minister claimed that around 40-50pc accumulated rainwater in devastated districts have been drained out, enabling the farmers to sow Rabi (winter) crops like wheat. He said it was not advisable for the PML-N leadership to do politics over the rain destruction in Sindh.
He also accused the Sharif brothers of committing corruption and earning money through illegal means. He claimed that the PML-N leaders had got billions of rupees loans written off by the banks while recently, Senator Ishaq Dar publicly admitted that money laundering was committed on instructions of Nawaz Sharif when he was prime minister.
The Sindh minister also alleged that PML-N chief was speaking the language of the West against Pak Army after killing of al-Qaeda chief, Osama bin Laden on May 2, 2011 in the US operation in Abbottabad.
Memon said that Nawaz Sharif had forgotten that he himself was a product of ambitious military generals. He said that the Sharif brothers supported those military generals who perpetrated the dictatorship in the country.
Good site for Nawaz Sharif Scandals:
http://nawazsharifscandals.com/
Posted in Corruption, Energy Crisis, Graft
