Beneficiaries on bail while staffers in custody in Park Lane reference; counsel for accused argues in SC

F.P. Report

ISLAMABAD: Supreme Court (SC) Friday adjourned hearing of the bail pleas, filed by two accused allegedly involved in money laundering for ten days.

A three-member bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Mushir Alam heard the case.

During the course of proceedings, the counsel for the accused said petitioners Iqbal Noori and Muhammad Hanif were employees of the company while the main accused in the Park Lane Tower reference, Asif Zardari and Abdul Ghani Majeed, had been granted bail.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) prosecutor said Asif Ali Zardari and Abdul Ghani Majeed were granted bail on medical grounds.

The counsel for the accused said the NAB had recently filed an interim reference.

The NAB prosecutor said the case was still under investigation.

The counsel for accused said the mortgaged property still existed. The value of the property was higher than the sanctioned loan amount, he added.

He said the high court did not take into account the value of the property.

He said the NAB had admitted that both the accused were employees of the company only. The real beneficiaries were Asif Ali Zardari and Hussain Loai, he added.

Justice Mushir Alam said not a single penny of the loan was repaid. He said the purpose of taking loan was not clear as it would not be taken for marriage.

Justice Yahya Afridi asked whether the accused were willing to repay the loan.

The NAB prosecutor said this was not a case of loan repayment but of money laundering. The accused took an illegal loan of Rs3.77 billion, he added.

The counsel for the accused said the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) and Summit Bank had filed civil cases against the accused for repayment of the loan. If the court allowed him, he would present the documents of the mortgaged property, he added.

The court allowed the accused’s lawyer to submit the documents and adjourned the hearing for ten days.