UK court papers establish Shehbaz Sharif as focus of NCA’s probe

Investigation, which was launched at Pakistani government’s request, could not find evidence of money laundering

The new documents related to the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency’s (NCA) investigation into the money laundering case against the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz President Shehbaz Sharif and son Suleman have been released in which the foreign agency absolved the duo of any wrongdoings.

According to the papers, the center of investigation was Shehbaz Sharif. They said that the PML-N president was found innocent after a thorough investigation into the allegation made against him. The agency also asked the court to end probes against Sharif.

The papers stated that the investigation was initiated at the request of the government of Pakistan after which the NCA froze assets of Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif in December 2019.

Previously, it was claimed by the PM’s adviser on accountability Shehzad Akbar that Sharif was not included in the investigation. However, the documents reveal that the PML-N president was in fact the center of investigation. The NCA probed a money trail of two flats owned by Sharif, the associated bank accounts and nearly £700,000 in Suleman’s accounts which were believed to have been laundered from Pakistan by Sharif.

Three investigation agencies including National Accountability Bureau, Asset Recovery Unit and Federal Investigation Agency took part in the investigation. They provided the documents and support in the probe.