Nawaz owner of two offshore companies, Court informed

Tariq Ullah Wardag
ISLAMABAD: The NAB’s prosecution witness Imran Dogar Thursday informed the Accountability Court that ousted premier Nawaz Sharif is the beneficiary owner of two offshore companies; Neilson and Nescol.
Accountability Court Judge Muhammad Bashir conducted the hearing of Avenfield property reference against Sharif family members.
Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and Capt. (Reted) Muhammad Safdar appeared before the court.
As the hearing commenced, the defense counsel Khawaja Haris continued his cross-examining with the last prosecution witness and Investigation Officer (IO) NAB Imran Dogar.
Dogar shared details of the course of NAB’s investigation and issuance of mutual legal assistance requests to the UK authorities regarding the ownership of the London flats and offshore companies.
He said that the letters of British Virgin Island had mentioned the names of former prime minister’s children, regarding the ownership of these flats.
He said Nawaz Sharif was the unnamed beneficial owner of Nelson and Nescol companies.
The MLAs requested information pertaining to the true owners of the two offshore companies.
Nawaz was the owner of London Flats while being in office, Dogar revealed.
Dogar also said that the suspects had been using the Avenfield flats since 1993 and had failed to prove a legitimate source of income for purchasing the properties.
To a question, the IO said this was a white-collar crime, which required indirect investigation.
He said Mazhar Bangash, Rashid and Sidra of SECP had submitted record related to the Avenfield property. Maryam Nawaz and Hussein Nawaz were the directors and shareholders of Hudaibiya Papers Mill, he informed.
Investigation Officer (IO) NAB Imran Dogar said that the Avenfield properties were also mentioned in a schedule attached with a Queen’s Bench Division decision as being under the ownership of the Sharifs.
When questioned by Nawaz’s lawyer Khawaja Harrris, Dogar said he had not attempted to meet Lawrence Radley, a partner at Broomhead.
Dogar said these flats were purchased through Offshore companies and in this context it didn’t matter whether the names of Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz were mentioned in letter of Lawrence Ridley or not.
However, Afzal Qureshi said the defense lawyer wanted to get his desired answer from the witness.
The court adjourned hearing of the reference till Friday, wherein Khawaja Haris would continue cross-examining with NAB’s Investigation Officer Imran Dogar.