LHC rejected bail of Hamza Shehbaz in money laundering case in 2020

The special court acquitted Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his son Hamza Shahbaz in the money laundering case despite the Lahore High Court (LHC) rejected Hamza’s bail in the same case in February 2020.

The then Leader of Opposition in the Punjab Assembly Hamza Shahbaz’s bail plea in a case concerning illegal assets and money laundering had been rejected by the LHC in February 2020. The PML-N leader had been arrested by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in June 2019.

A two-member bench of the LHC headed by Justice Syed Mazhar Ali Akbar Naqvi had heard the PML-N leader’s bail plea during which they asked his lawyer what the allegations against Hamza were, according to Dawn News.

Money laundering case: Will Shehbaz, Hamza submit Rs16b to national exchequer after acquittal?

Hamza’s counsel, Salman Aslam Butt, said NAB had claimed Hamza’s assets increased illegally. But his counsel argued that under the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Act 2010, NAB couldn’t act against Hamza.

“One of your points before the court is that NAB can’t take action on the basis of the anti-money laundering act?” inquired Justice Naqvi, to which Butt responded in the affirmative.

The court also inquired by how much Hamza’s assets had increased. While NAB’s lawyer said the PML-N leader’s assets had increased by Rs410 billion till 2018, Hamza’s counsel said NAB was sharing the increase over the past 15 years, adding that he wanted to assist the court on this matter.

The LHC then asked Hamza’s lawyer to share the source of the increase in his client’s assets.

Butt said that all of his client’s assets were declared and his tax returns were available, adding that Hamza had also received money from abroad.

After the court inquired about who had sent the money from abroad, Butt said, “Everything is stated in his [Hamza’s] tax returns.” He added that Hamza had never received a bribe or a kickback.

Presenting his arguments, NAB’s lawyer shared details of Shehbaz Sharif’s family assets, alleging that money kept flowing into the accounts of Hamza and his family.

A court order was also issued against Hamza that read, “21. The petitioner was arrested in this case on 28.09.2020 and during investigation he has been found fully involved in this case. The prosecution witnesses including the approvers, in their statements recorded under Section 161 Cr.P.C. have fully implicated the petitioner in this case and their statements are supplemented with the documentary evidence as discussed supra.”

“The assets acquired by the petitioner in the name of his family members through fake and forged TTs in their bank accounts and other Benamidars, which was found disproportionate to the known source of his income by the NAB authorities, has brought a bad name of the country. Suffice it to say that sufficient incriminating material is available on record to connect the petitioner with the alleged offence and, thus, he is not entitled to the relief claimed for.”

It concluded, “22. In view of what has been discussed above, the petition in hand is without any merit, the same stands dismissed.”

Later in February 2021, the Lahore High Court (LHC) had granted bail to Leader of Opposition in Punjab Assembly Hamza Shehbaz in a money laundering case, ordering the jail authorities to release him after the submission of bail bonds.