£190m case: Trial court barred from announcing final verdict

ISLAMABAD: Giving ruling on PTI founder Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi's petitions, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday barred the accountability court from giving a final verdict in the £190 million settlement case.

A two-member bench of the high court comprising Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb heard the couple's acquittal plea in the said case.

The PTI founder on September 7 had filed a plea seeking acquittal in the £190 million case after the Supreme Court's verdict in the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) amendments case wherein the court accepted the intra-court appeals filed against last year's verdict which struck down the changes made to the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO).

The couple is accused of causing billions of rupees loss to the national exchequer.

The former premier and the ex-first lady also approached the IHC against the accountability court's ruling, seeking acquittal and pleading with the court to stop the trial court's proceedings until the case remains pending in the high court.

After hearing arguments, the IHC ordered the trial court to complete proceedings, however, it should not issue a final judgment.

The IHC bench also directed Khan and Bushra's lawyers to submit relevant documents. It also issued notices to the respondents over the couple's acquittal pleas and adjourned the hearing till September 26.

It is noteworthy to mention here that the accountability court had rejected the PTI founder and his wife's acquittal pleas in the NCA scandal case.

What is the £190 million case?

As per the charges of the case, Khan and other accused allegedly adjusted Rs50 billion — £190 million at the time — sent by Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) to the Pakistani government as part of the agreement with a property tycoon.

Subsequently, then-prime minister Khan had gotten approval for the settlement with the UK crime agency from his cabinet on December 3, 2019, without disclosing the details of the confidential agreement.

It was decided that the money would be submitted to the Supreme Court on behalf of the tycoon.

According to the NAB officials, Khan and his wife obtained land worth billions of rupees from the property tycoon, to build an educational institute, in return for striking a deal to give legal cover to the property tycoon’s black money received from the UK crime agency.