NAB files Park Lane reference against Asif Ali Zardari
The anti-corruption watchdog has nominated 17 accused including Asif Ali Zardari in the case.
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Friday has filed Park Lane reference against former president and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari in accountability court.
According to details, the anti-corruption watchdog has nominated 17 accused including Asif Ali Zardari in the case.
On March 20, the NAB Rawalpindi had handed over questionnaires comprising 54 questions each to Zardari and his son Bilawal in three cases including Park Lane Estate reference, and directed them to submit their response within 10 days.
The members of a joint investigation team (JIT) of the anti-graft watchdog had recorded their statements after 2 hours of interrogation at the bureau’s office in Rawalpindi concerning accusations over Park Lane Estate Company (Pvt) Ltd - a Karachi-based real estate firm co-owned by Zardari and Bilawal.
On April 13, Zardari had submitted his written response to the NAB Rawalpindi on 54 questions in connection with three cases against him, including Park Lane Estate, Pink Residency, and fake accounts and money laundering.
Zardari had acquired the company illegally through a front man, Iqbal Memon, in 1989. In 2009, Zardari and Bilawal became shareholders of the company.
Moreover, both of them have a stake of 25 percent each in the company and Zardari had the authority to use the company accounts at his discretion as the director of the firm.
Allegedly, billions of rupees were transferred to the company’s accounts via fake bank accounts while the company documents dating back to the year 2008 show Zardari’s signatures as the director. The company took out loans of billions of rupees from the banks.
On June 10, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) rejected bail applications of Zardari and his sibling Faryal Talpur, after which both of them were arrested by the NAB.
