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Saturday September 07, 2024

Critical evidence in cases, including £190m NCA scam, collected by NAB in recent raid

Bureau is presently assessing different aspects of the documentary evidence collected from the raid

By Ansar Abbasi
July 11, 2024
CCTV footage shows NAB team raiding popular housing society Bahria Towns office in Rawalpindi. — Screengrab/Geo News/File
CCTV footage shows NAB team raiding popular housing society Bahria Town's office in Rawalpindi. — Screengrab/Geo News/File

ISLAMABAD: Sources in the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) claim to have got hold of some valuable evidence about different cases, including the £190 million National Crime Agency (NCA) settlement scam, against Imran Khan, during its raid on Bahria Town’s offices.

An informed source told The News the evidence collected by the NAB during the raid is of great importance, and relates to different cases including that belonging to UK’s National Crime Agency.

The Bureau is presently assessing different aspects of the documentary evidence collected from the raid. “We are cross checking some of the documents, evaluating their relevance in different cases against different individuals”, the source said.

When asked if the evidence collected regarding £190 million National Crime Agency (NCA) settlement scam against Imran Khan will be presented in the on-going Al-Qadir Trust reference trial by Accountability Court, the source said no decision has been taken to this respect as yet. He said prosecution is quite satisfied with the already available evidence produced before the Accountability Court in the Al-Qadir Trust case, also known as £190 million NCA corruption reference, against Imran Khan, Bushra Bibi and others.

The Accountability Court is presently recording the statement of prosecution witnesses in the case in its trial in Adiala Jail where both Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi are jailed.

On Wednesday, Accountability Court in Adiala Jail recorded the statement of former Defence Minister Pervez Khattak. He told the court former accountability czar Shahzad Akbar had told the then cabinet a substantial amount of money allegedly illegally transferred out of Pakistan had been seized in Britain.

Khattak said the documents related to transfer of £190 million by the NCA to Pakistan were presented before the Imran Khan cabinet in a sealed envelope, and approval of the cabinet was sought as an additional item.

Almost 31 witnesses have recorded their statements and their cross-examination has also been completed. A ew weeks back, a NAB team had raided the offices in Rawalpindi-Islamabad in connection with Al-Qadir Trust University case and £190 million NCA settlement scam, and took all the records into custody.

During the raid, Punjab police and elite force personnel cordoned off the offices while the NAB team was examining the documents and records that were collected. According to media reports, the NAB team had also questioned the staff of the housing society in the offices regarding records of Al-Qadir Trust University and the £190 million NCA settlement scam. The NAB team, later, sealed the offices.

Reacting to the raid, Bahria Town Chairman Malik Riaz Hussain had said on ‘X’ that he would bear all hardships but would not become “an approver”.