LAHORE: An accountability court on Tuesday sent Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leader Aleem Khan to jail on a 14-day judicial remand in a case pertaining to his offshore companies and alleged possession of assets beyond his known sources of income.
National Accountability Bureau (NAB) officials, who produced Khan before an accountability court judge as his physical remand had expired, sought an extension of Khan’s physical remand for further interrogation. The accused’s counsel, however, opposed the demand.
The court rejected the corruption watchdog’s plea for an extension of physical remand, and instead sent the former provincial minister to jail.
On Feb 6, NAB had taken Khan into custody in Lahore. He faces multiple inquiries, including one involving offshore company Hexam Investment Overseas Ltd, one for owning assets beyond his known sources of income, and inquiries into his involvement in the Park View Housing Society, River Age Housing Society, and Multan Road.
NAB officials allege that Khan had misused his authority as general secretary of the Park View Housing Society and as a past member of the provincial assembly to acquire assets beyond his known sources of income.
NAB had in January 2018 sought the records and details of offshore companies reportedly established in tax havens abroad by Khan and PML-Q’s Chaudhry Moonis Elahi. A Mutual Legal Assistance report pertaining to Khan’s case was provided to NAB Lahore earlier in January this year, following which the PTI leader was summoned and later arrested.
According to NAB Lahore, Khan had started a real state business in which he invested tens of millions of rupees. He bought 900 kanals of land and a further 600 kanals of land through a company set up for this purpose, A&A Private Ltd.
However, according to the bureau, the PTI leader was unable to show the sources of income with which he purchased the land.
NAB further alleges that Khan had set up multiple offshore companies in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Britain in 2005 and 2006, using them to purchase assets that cannot be explained by his means.
Following his arrest, the PTI leader had immediately submitted his resignation to Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar.
During the last hearing of the case, the accountability court in Lahore had extended the physical remand of Khan until March 5. During the hearing, NAB had contended that the former provincial minister had failed to disclose the details of his properties in Dubai.
Updating the court about the progress in the investigation, the NAB prosecutor had said the anti-graft body had obtained a record of properties bought and sold by Khan in Dubai amounting to 28 million UAE dirhams. The amount was not mentioned in Khan’s asset details, NAB prosecutor added.
The NAB prosecutor had also told the court that Khan had been unable to provide a money trail for a property he owned in Lahore which had been sold. According to NAB, Khan had availed benefits up to Rs140 million under the Federal Board of Revenue’s tax amnesty scheme.
