The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) prosecution admitted before the Islamabad High Court that the National Crimes Agency (NCA) order confiscating £190 million sent by property tycoon Malik Riaz was not included in the judicial record.
The hearing was presided over by IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri. Special Prosecutor Amjad Pervaiz was addressing the post-arrest bail petitions of former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi in this case.
When Justice Jahangiri asked if the prosecution had obtained the certified copy of the order that froze Mr. Riaz’s money, the prosecutor admitted they had not.
The prosecutor explained that the previous PTI government had established an Assets Recovery Unit (ARU), headed by Mirza Shahzad Akbar, which reported directly to the prime minister. The ARU had written to the NCA about Malik Riaz’s alleged money laundering, citing his purchase of a Hyde Park property from Hassan Nawaz.
Mr. Pervaiz noted that the Supreme Court had fined Mr. Riaz Rs460 billion in a separate land case, and this amount was recently transferred to the Sindh government. He also mentioned that Bahria Town had purchased 458 kanals of land in Zulfi Bukhari’s name before the Al-Qadir Trust was established, and discussions about the Trust began after the land transfer.
The prosecutor further stated that after the NCA confiscated Mr. Riaz’s money, Mr. Akbar prepared a confidential deed to unfreeze these funds and got it approved by the federal cabinet without disclosing its contents.
Justice Jahangiri inquired why the NCA had frozen the amount. The prosecutor responded that the NCA had flagged the transaction as suspicious, and the accused had facilitated the transfer of these funds to Mr. Riaz’s account illegally. The hearing was adjourned until May 13.