NAB issues details of foreign accounts of Zardari, Benazir
Pakistan
NAB issues details of foreign accounts of Zardari, Benazir
National Accountability Bureau has issued details of companies having 8.4 million dollars in different Swiss accounts. According to report, President Asif Ali Zardari and Benazir Bhutto had six accounts in foreign banks. According to the NAB report presented in Supreme Court, the capital in banks of Switzerland belongs to 12 companies. President Asif Ali Zardari, Nusrat Bhuto, Aamir Lodhi and Benazir Bhutto are among the owners of these companies. President Asif Ali Zardari holds four full accounts and is partner in three other accounts. Aamir Lodhi and Asif Ali Zardari are partners in an account. Nasir Hussain and Nusrat Bhutto hold two accounts whereas lawyer Jim Shilgamal holds two accounts with one account on his brother-in-laws name. On the other hand Federal Minister Babar Awan while talking to media said that he did not accept NAB report. My hands are clean and I am ready to face the allegations in bar council, said Babar Awan. Background of Swiss caseA few days back there was a developing story in Switzerland where the Pakistan UK High Commisioner Wajid Shamsul Hasan specially flew to Geneva to meet the lawyer prosecuting Asif Ali Zardaris Swiss cases in an attempt to confiscate all the evidence present there. It must be recalled that it were the infamous Swiss cases where Mr. Zardari as being tried for charges of money laundering to the tune of $60 million, the charges were dropped after the Pakistani govt aka Pervaiz Musharraf chose not to pursue the case in a deal validated under the NRO with Benazir Bhutto in October 2007. The evidence present in the lawyers office was hence effectively lethal for Asif Zardari if the Supreme Court nulls and voids the NRO Ordinance.It is reported that the lawyer resisted and refused to hand over the evidence unless someone from the local Pakistani High Commission does not categorically receives the evidence. In two hours a staff member arrived and all the evidence was carefully loaded in a black SUV.After departure from Geneva the evidence were apparently flown to London, from there it seems the trail of the evidence simply disappears. When various journalists inquired about this evidence from the Pakistan High Commission in UK and the National Accountability Bureau offices it seems there is much confusion as to who authorized this procedure and more importantly no one seems to know where exactly are these 12 cartons of evidence.
