The Special Court (Central) Lahore adjourned the hearing against 14 accused employees in Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his family’s money laundering case. As per details, the court adjourned the hearing without any hearing due to the absence of the judge till January 7. Muhammad Usman and 13 other employees accused of facilitating Sharif family in alleged money laundering have filed an acquittal plea in the special court (central). It is pertinent to note that Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) President and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his son Hamza Shehbaz have been already acquitted in money laundering case.

In November 2020, the FIA lodged the First Information Report (FIR) against Shehbaz and Hamza for alleged Rs25 money laundering. Later in July 2021, the accused secured interim bail from a banking court. The case was later shifted to the special court Central-I. In March 2022, the charge sheet of the money laundering case was submitted in which the amount of laundered money was reduced from Rs25 billion to Rs16 billion, whereas, the names of 100 witnesses were presented to the concerned court.

The three accused in the money laundering case Suleman Shehbaz, Tahir Naqvi and Malik Maqsood alias Maqsood Chaprasi were declared absconders. Among the accused, Gulzar Ahmed of Hasilpur died in October 2020 and Malik Maqsood died in June 2022, whereas, former FIA Lahore director and the head of the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) Dr Rizwan also passed away in May this year.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-INP