The man who sealed Imran Khan’s fate, for now

LONDON: Former prime minister Imran Khan has been sentenced to three years in prison for corrupt practices involving the illegal sale of state gifts and concealing assets in the Toshakhana case.

Crucial evidence provided by Dubai-based businessman and Liberia’s Ambassador at Large, Umar Farooq Zahoor, played a significant role in Imran Khan’s trial and conviction.

Judge Humayun Dilawar, while convicting Imran Khan and disqualifying him from politics for five years, found that Khan had “deliberately submitted fake details” of the gifts to the court and was involved in corruption.

The court said: “His dishonesty has been established beyond doubt,” adding that the allegations against Mr. Khan were proven.

The judge’s verdict on “fake receipts” relates to Khan’s initial defence, claiming that he had sold the rare Graff watch, gifted to him by the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, to a local Islamabad watch seller. Khan’s legal team also produced receipts for the sale of state gifts at cheap prices.

However, the scenario changed dramatically when wealthy Dubai-based Norwegian-Pakistani businessman Umar Farooq Zahoor made a stunning revelation. He declared that he was the new owner of the Diamond MasterGraff Tourbillon Minute Repeater with Makkah Map Dial GM2751, also known as Master Graff limited edition, valued at Rs85 million ($385,000).

In a major development, Zahoor revealed on Geo News that he had purchased the rare Master Graff watch and other Saudi-gifted items from Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Begum, Farah Gogi. Gogi was introduced to her by Shahzad Akbar, the former accountability adviser to Imran Khan.

Umar Farooq Zahoor acquired four gifts — the diamond master Graff with Makkah map dial, diamond cufflinks, round diamonds, diamond gent’s ring, and VVSl rose gold pen set with pave diamonds and enamel Mecca map --- for a total of 7.5 million AED dirhams. With Umar Farooq Zahoor’s public appearance and presentation of the Toshakhana gifts, there was no doubt about the new ownership. Imran Khan’s team had acknowledged that Umar Farooq Zahoor was the new owner after he produced the watch and other gifts before the media. A week before Imran Khan’s conviction, Zahoor appeared on Geo News with anchor Saleem Safi, where he had presented the same watch and other gift items.

Credible sources revealed that Pakistani authorities had conducted a detailed investigation into Umar Farooq Zahoor’s claims of owning the Toshakhana gifts. A team of investigators had visited Dubai, where Zahoor was interviewed, and his sworn statements were taken. The Pakistani diplomatic mission had independently verified the authenticity of the watch by approaching the original watchmaker and obtaining certifications and valuations confirming that Umar Farooq Zahoor was the genuine owner of the watch sold by Imran Khan’s aides in the open market. This denied PTI’s claims about the watch sale.

Afterward, Umar Farooq Zahoor visited Pakistan and appeared before the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and other investigating bodies, confirming his ownership of the watch and providing his witness statement.

Umar Farooq Zahoor’s evidence became a centrepiece in the corruption cases against the former prime minister in the separate NAB, FIA, and Toshakhana cases.

After Umar Farooq Zahoor publicly revealed the Toshakhana gifts’ ownership, Imran Khan and other PTI leaders had launched attacks on him and his family through the media.

Imran Khan had announced his intention to sue Zahoor in Dubai and hired a lawyer for this purpose. However, the Dubai authorities informed Khan’s lawyer that no case against Mr. Zahoor would be allowed as he had not breached any laws.

In response to Fawad Chaudhary’s accusations against him, Umar Farooq Zahoor had released hundreds of conversations with the PTI leader, showing that Fawad Chaudhary had referred to him as “bhai” (brother) even after making allegations against Farah Gogi.

Chaudhary had also requested Zahoor to provide a job to his friend in his company, discussed buying the COVID vaccine from him, and shared secret government information with him.

Umar Farooq Zahoor and Imran Khan’s history dates back to 2019 and 2020 when Shahzad Akbar introduced Zahoor to Farah Gogi, and negotiations began for the purchase of the Toshakhana gifts.

Shahzad Akbar and Umar Zahoor had a serious disagreement in early June 2020 when the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Lahore’s Corporate Circle initiated an investigation against Zahoor after receiving a complaint from “citizen Khushbakht Mirza” alleging fraud and money laundering of around Rs16 billion by Umar Farooq Zahoor. It was not disclosed in the complaint that Khushbakht Mirza was actually Sophia Mirza, Zahoor’s former wife, with whom he was involved in a court dispute.

Shahzad Akbar, who was the head of the Assets Recovery Unit (ARU) at that time and also controlled the FIA, had presented Sophia’s complaint to the cabinet and received approval for the FIA to probe Zahoor’s alleged fraud. The late FIA Lahore Chief Dr. Rizwan had led the campaign against Mr. Zahoor in Pakistan and abroad on behalf of Shahzad Akbar and Sophia Mirza.

However, all cases against Umar Farooq Zahoor were subsequently closed by the courts and investigators for a lack of evidence of any wrongdoing.

Despite facing attacks from the PTI while in power, Zahoor remained steadfast, and his revelations about owning Imran Khan’s Toshakhana gifts have now resulted in Khan’s conviction. After Imran Khan’s arrest and imprisonment, Umar Farooq Zahoor expressed his vindication, tweeting: “Alhamdullilah. I am vindicated.”