LAHORE: On Friday, the youngest son of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Suleman Shehbaz has been declared an absconder by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in the money-laundering case of Rs16 billion. A Special Court (Central – I) conducted the hearing. The court has also summoned Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at the next hearing.
The case dates back to December 2021, when FIA issued challans against Hamza Shehbaz and Shehbaz Sharif. According to the investigation team, the Sharif family holds 28 hidden accounts and committed money-laundering of Rs16 billion from 2008 to 2018. The report by FIA states that 17,000 transactions were examined, and Shehbaz received the amount in his personal capacity.
At today’s hearing, Hamza remained present, but the premier requested for exemption. Despite being called multiple times, Suleman Shehbaz and Tahir Naqvi remained absent today. The court declared both of them absconders and demanded details of their assets.
The court has also directed DG FIA to initiate a departmental investigation against officers involved who were investigating the case. It further demanded the death certificate of Maqsood, an accused who died a few days ago.
Reportedly the court will indict the father-son pair, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz, on July 15 in the money-laundering case.