LAHORE: An accountability court on Thursday issued non-bailable arrest warrants for PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif’s son Suleman Shehbaz, in a money laundering reference.
The court has ordered authorities to arrest Suleman and present himself before the court at the next hearing of the reference. The court also asked authorities to submit a report in this regard at the next hearing.
Earlier in June, the National Accountability Bureau said it will contact the National Crime Agency in UK and Interpol to bring back Suleman from London in its ongoing investigation into money laundering charges.
According to a spokesperson of the Bureau, Suleman’s non-bailable arrest warrants had been issued on the money laundering charges. “The Lahore High Court has declared Suleman Shehbaz a fugitive in the money laundering case against the Sharif family,” he had said.
In April last year, the PTI leadership and NAB had alleged that Hamza Shehbaz and Suleman, who is currently in London, are involved in laundering money worth Rs85 billion.
Suleman had rejected the charges as baseless and frivolous allegations by the PTI government and said Prime Minister Imran Khan has questions to answer about his own “unexplained assets worth Rs4 billion”.
“I brought money from abroad into Pakistan for investment and that’s not money laundering. Each and everything that I own is declared with the FBR. Every penny that I invested in Pakistan is declared and on-board, and record of each and every asset and business that I have ever owned is available with relevant Pakistani authorities,” Suleman had said.
Last year in December, the anti-graft body had issued orders to freeze 23 properties belonging to the former Punjab chief minister and Hamza and Suleman over the allegation that they acquired assets beyond their known sources of income and committed money laundering.
