Akbar announces to become party in case if Shehbaz 'serves' legal notice to Daily Mail

"If we talk of corruption, then [the opposition] says that the CPEC is endangered," he added.

ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Accountability Shahzad Akbar on Sunday announced to become party in a case if Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president Shehbaz Sharif serves legal notice to the British newspaper Daily Mail and its journalist David Rose for accusing him of embezzling public funds in a news story published on July 14.

“Where does the claim of Sharif in suing the Daily Mail stand now?” asked Akbar, while addressing a press conference in Islamabad.

Akbar asserted that Sharif has only filed a complaint with the administration of the newspaper that his point of view was not taken [in the article], and not refuted the news story.

“It was claimed that a legal action would be taken against me in courts of London, whereas I had said, in a news conference, that I would present evidence in the courts of London,” he said, adding that money laundering was done from Britain.

“Ali Imran had turned fugitive, and Rs1 billion has been recovered from Naveed Akram…according to Daily Mail, millions of dollars were laundered from Britain,” he maintained.

The special assistant to the premier on accountability said Ali Imran was sent money directly from a project of Earthquake Reconstruction & Rehabilitation Authority (Erra).

“If we talk of corruption, then [the opposition] says that the CPEC is endangered,” he added.

He asserted that Sharif would never go to the court [in the matter], and urged him to fulfill his promise of sending a legal notice to him [Shehzad Akbar].

On July 14, Britain-based publication Daily Mail had exposed alleged money laundering scandal of Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly (NA) Shehbaz Sharif from the UK government aid for earthquake victims in Pakistan.

According to a confidential investigation report seen by Daily Mail, millions of pounds were transferred into the bank accounts of Shehbaz’s family members, including his wife, children and a son-in-law.

It states to have interviewed key witnesses held on remand in jail, including a UK citizen Aftab Mehmood.

Mehmood revealed that he had laundered millions on behalf of Shehbaz’s family from a nondescript office in Birmingham – without attracting suspicion from Britain’s financial regulators, who inspected his books regularly.

Allegedly, stolen millions were laundered in Birmingham and then allegedly transferred to Shahbaz’s family’s accounts by UK branches of banks including Barclays and HSBC, the report stated.

It further said that by 2018, total assets of Sharif family had grown to about £200 million. Among other properties, Shehbaz owns a 53,000 sq ft palace in Lahore, which has its own large security force.

For rehabilitating and rebuild lives of the poor, the DFID gave £54 million from UK taxpayers; and the legal documents allege that Shehbaz’s son-in-law received about £1 million from that fund.