Shahbaz Sharif: Another story of Money Laundering

[newb3e]

I said every third world country is like Pakistan corrupt every institution government people everyone is corrupt in third world countries what it has got to do with boot or polish

in Pakistan corruption is facilitated by Boots! and if yku keep licking boots ull have kalak all over yourface!

 

[B.K.N]

in Pakistan corruption is facilitated by Boots! and if yku keep licking boots ull have kalak all over yourface!

But I never mentioned boots anywhere I don't know who facilitates what meray pass andar ki khabar nahi hai
but I personally believe army is relatively less corrupt compared to other institutions of Pakistan

 

[SIPRA]

...but I personally believe army is relatively less corrupt compared to other institutions of Pakistan

Yes. Fully agree. It is far less corrupt, as compared to our politicians and civil public officials.

 

[newb3e]

But I never mentioned boots anywhere I don't know who facilitates what meray pass andar ki khabar nahi hai
but I personally believe army is relatively less corrupt compared to other institutions of Pakistan

Yes. Fully agree. It is far less corrupt, as compared to our politicians and civil public officials.

all i know is boots created bhutto nawaj signed nro with zardari armed altaf and destroyed our country! ya koi andar ki khabar nai!

and i am not against army i am against this maslihat ki policy where they are still protecting these bastards just because they dont want to face justice! this accountability drive is a scam if mushraf is not brought back to Pakistan and face the music!

 

[Path-Finder]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1150361644641505280

https://twitter.com/x/status/1150354321978081281

hmmn, interesting tirade has begun. the tooi wal have come up with their usual merasi-ism BUT I get the feeling that the kabaria tubber has been rattled and it is spewing its usual crap. like monkey flings its excrement.

Nooraz deny the news... and claim that PMIK is using British newspaper against them... wow...victim Noooraz

The journalist has challenged the Nooraz about the news and says that the truth in news...

@crankthatskunk can you check his tweets?

this woman has no shame she lies so brazenly, no wonder she is a tooi wal.

 

[Path-Finder]

Just wait... #MarasiMedia and #Lifafas will do everything to kills the bombshell with some #JumWhoriaat ko hatra ...

If the Showbaaz family doesn't sue the DailyMail then all this is typical tamasha of Nooraz....

I don't think so, tooi wal will earn money from the haram gathered by the kabaria tubbar. But ultimately how long are they going to lie for the kabaria's the media's reputation is finished or their golden era on Pakistan's prime time is coming to an end.

The dheel the riasat gave was the mistake but maybe it wasn't because they have been exposed even further.

 

[crankthatskunk]

PMLN trolls and its leaders are trying to get out of the claims published in Sunday Mail against
Shahbaz Sharif stealing from Earth Quick funds.

David Rose had twitted that he meet PM Imran Khan before the elections before Imran Khan won the elections and later become the PM of Pakistan.

The simple way out for the PMLN leadership and its troll is to sue Sunday Mail.

But we know from the experience that Pakistani leaders would never sue any international publications, because they know their credibility is zero, they would be blown out of the water by any competent Barrister and end up may millions in fees and damages.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1150361644641505280

 

[crankthatskunk]

Maryam Aurengzeb the ugly face of Pakistani politics is trying to read from her charge sheet against PM Imran Khan.
I responded to her Bull Crap.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1150373885054988289

 

[Shane]

Showbaaz is correct in saying that eik dhelay ki corruption nahi ki... becuase it is in Trillions...

Let us see if the #MarasiMedia is going to chase these parasites and ask questions or #LifafaJurnos going to cover it up...

I haven't seen any #KhooniLiberals protesting about it... why?

Personally, becoming tired of this government as well... hasn't put any crooks in proper jails...just daily bongian...

Why is Showbaaz walking freely?

Why hasn't NAB arrested him and put him in a normal jail like ordinary Paks, whose blood these parasites have sucked dry?

Why is #Dabloo running freely in the Two Sacred Cities and trying to buy people?
Where is secret service? Why isn't he brought back? That fat thing will sing in one week if given normal Pak jail...

Pathetic!

No, wonder Pak Pasport has dirt value...

Wah, wah, #JumWhoriaat hae

Pakistan ka matlab kia.....?

Here is a news report about the same:

 

[crankthatskunk]

This is the official response from DFID media team, it is on official British Government 's blog website, therefore, it should be treated as official response.


UK aid rebuts Mail on Sunday story on support for earthquake victims
Posted by:DFID Media Team, Posted on:14 July 2019 - Categories:0.7%, Corruption, Pakistan


The Mail on Sunday has today published a story which asks the question in its headline: Did the family of UK aid’s poster boy steal taxpayers’ cash meant for earthquake victims?

It refers to Shahbaz Sharif the leader of Pakistan’s main opposition party who is accused of embezzling public funds. He denies any wrongdoing.

The paper suggests Sharif stole British taxpayers’ money given to Pakistan’s Earthquake Relief and Reconstruction Authority (ERRA), which was set up to help the victims of the 2005 Pakistan earthquake.

Our response to the question asked in the headline was robust and clear. It was carried close to the bottom of the 2,500 word story.

Here it is in full:

A Department for International Development spokesperson said:

“The UK’s financial support to ERRA over this period was for payment by results – which means we only gave money once the agreed work, which was primarily focused on building schools, was completed, and the work audited and verified.

“The UK taxpayer got exactly what it paid for and helped the vulnerable victims of a devastating earthquake. We are confident our robust systems protected UK taxpayers from fraud.”

The Mail on Sunday provides little substantial evidence to support its headline.

It says investigators in Pakistan “are convinced that some of the allegedly stolen money came from DFID-funded aid projects” without providing any substantial evidence this was the case with the earthquake fund.

The piece goes on to quote Shahzad Akbar, Imran Khan's Asset Recovery Unit chief, saying it “appears” some money “may” have been stolen from aid and development projects, again without offering any substantial evidence this was the case with ERRA.

DFID also gave The Mail on Sunday some background on its work in Pakistan.

We told the paper how DFID’s work is lifting millions of the poorest people out of poverty whilst improving stability and security in both the UK and Pakistan, which ultimately benefits the UK as well.

Over 10 million children in primary schools – including 4.7 million girls – have benefited from UK education programmes since 2011. Over 5.8 million children in secondary schools, including 2.7 million girls, have also benefited from our work.

In addition, the UK has supported over 8 million people in Pakistan following natural disasters and conflict since 2011.

https://dfidnews.blog.gov.uk/2019/0...nday-story-on-support-for-earthquake-victims/

Those who understand English should understand that this blog entries from DFID media team doesn't absolve Shahbaz Butt from the allegations level against him by Mail on Sunday.

What Mail did was to ask the questions rather than level the allegations.
Once you question something rather than report something as a fact or opinion the legal meanings of your statement change 360's degree.

Mail on Sunday answer the Qs and DFID has provided the answer that they don't think that money laundered by Shahbaz came from the aid given by DFID.
Even Shahzad only stated that the money could have come from DFID earth quick relief.

There is another part and angle of the write up in Sunday Mail. It also accuses of money laundering through established network. They have given names of the people involved in the money laundering. DFID is not providing any response to that or their press communique is making comments on money laundering allegations.
They in fact are making it clear that they are diligent in aid distribution and have check and balance in place to stop the abuse.
It is in my knowledge that the money transfer business involved had its licence cancelled by the financial regulatory authority.

 

[ghazi52]

PML-N discredits UK media report against Shahbaz, his family; calls it 'baseless'
July 14, 2019

PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb terms The Mail on Sunday report against party president Shahbaz Sharif "baseless" and a "propaganda campaign". — AFP/File

PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb, reacting to an article published in UK's The Mail on Sunday which questions whether Shahbaz Sharif "stole British foreign aid money", termed the report "baseless" and a "propaganda campaign".

The article, written by investigative journalist David Rose and quoting investigators and a "confidential investigation report", claims that the money "stolen" by the PML-N president, between the 2005 earthquake and 2012, also came from the UK's Department for International Development (DFID)-funded aid projects.

"For years he was feted as a Third World poster boy by Britain’s Department for International Development, which poured more than £500 million of UK taxpayers’ money into his province in the form of aid," says the report. "Last year, the head of DFID’s Pakistan office Joanna Rowley lauded his ‘dedication’."

"Yet, say investigators, all the time that DFID was heaping him and his government with praise and taxpayers’ cash, Shahbaz and his family were embezzling tens of millions of pounds of public money and laundering it in Britain," writes Rose in the report. "They are convinced that some of the allegedly stolen money came from DFID-funded aid projects."

Aurangzeb, via PML-N's Twitter account on Sunday, pointed out that the article does not mention any UK government document, while also questioning the credibility of the publication and the writer.

"Conspiratorial point of views and allegations have been published [...] news report does not mention any report by the UK government. It is fabricated, baseless and a pack of lies that has been invented by Imran Khan's conspiratorial mind," said Aurangzeb. She also held a press conference on the matter later in the day, where she said that the PML-N would sue the publication over the "planted, unsubstantiated" story.



"The news was published through a controversial journalist [who works for a] UK newspaper and is based in Lahore on Mr Imran's behest," claimed Aurangzeb. "Shahbaz Sharif spent every penny with honesty and transparently. The real news is that of Imran Niazi's 18 fake accounts that has evoked fear. The real and factual news is yet to come from Britain which concerns embezzlement of billions of dollars and money laundering."

Little substantial evidence: DFID

DFID in its rebuttal said The Mail on Sunday provides little substantial evidence to support its headline: 'Did the family of UK aid’s poster boy steal taxpayers’ cash meant for earthquake victims?'.

“The UK taxpayer got exactly what it paid for and helped the vulnerable victims of a devastating earthquake. We are confident our robust systems protected UK taxpayers from fraud,” said DFID quoting its response to the question asked in the headline.

It is pertinent to mention The Mail on Sunday has campaigned against Britain’s policy of spending 0.7 per cent of national income, currently about £14 billion a year, on foreign aid.

The only named official in The Mail article is Assets Recovery Unit Chief Shahzad Akbar. "Our investigations have already uncovered evidence of money-laundering on a vast scale, much of it conducted via the UK," Akbar is quoted as saying.

"We are working closely with the National Crime Agency and the Home Office. We are grateful for this assistance and we hope it will ensure that theft and money-laundering of this magnitude will never happen again."

Meanwhile, chief spokesperson for the PTI-led government, Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan, also held a press conference on Sunday following the article's publication and called it "an evidence of the corruption of Sharifs".

She claimed that since The Mail was a British publication, it was impartial and "free of pressure".



'Where, how the laundered funds were stolen'

Talking about where and how the laundered funds were stolen, the article claims one case has already come to court – "a guilty plea by Ikram Naveed, the former finance director of Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (Erra), which received £54 million from DFID between then and 2012, both for immediate relief and long-term schemes to rebuild victims’ lives".

Last year, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman allowed the plea bargain of Naveed after he became approver against Imran Ali Yousuf, the son-in-law of Shahbaz Sharif.

NAB had told the court that Naveed had confessed to having paid around Rs 130 million to Yousaf. It said Naveed had caused a Rs 490 million loss to the national exchequer during his service in both companies.

"Naveed pleaded guilty and confessed last November to embezzling about £1.5 million from Erra during the period DFID was funding it, of which he passed on almost £1 million to Ali Imran [Yousaf]," says the article.

Naveed said half of this was transferred directly from Erra’s accounts – a claim The Mail said was confirmed by banking records. "Ali Imran [Shahbaz's son-in-law] has been summoned to answer questions from investigators, but has failed to appear – because he is in London, and refuses to speak to them. He did not respond to a request for comment from the MoS," says the report.

Alleged involvement of Shahbaz's family

The article quotes Shahbaz’s son Suleman as denying the allegations against him and his family, saying they were the product of a ‘political witch-hunt’ ordered by Prime Minister Imran Khan. "No allegation has been proven. There is no evidence of kickbacks," he is quoted as saying in the report.

According to the writer, The Mail was given "exclusive access" to some of the results of a high-level probe ordered by Prime Minister Imran.

"We were also able to interview key witnesses held on remand in jail, including a UK citizen Aftab Mehmood. He claims he laundered millions on behalf of Shahbaz’s family from a nondescript office in Birmingham – without attracting suspicion from Britain’s financial regulators, who inspected his books regularly," says the report.


A few 'revelations' by The Mail

• "Legal documents allege that Shahbaz’s son-in-law received about £1 million from a fund established to rebuild the lives of earthquake victims"
• "Stolen millions were laundered in Birmingham and then allegedly transferred to Shahbaz’s family’s accounts by UK branches of banks including Barclays and HSBC"
• "Britain’s National Crime Agency is working closely with Pakistani investigators and Home Secretary Sajid Javid is discussing the possible extradition of members of Shahbaz’s family who have taken refuge in London"

Demand of inquiry

According to the report, former International Development Secretary Priti Patel has demanded an inquiry, saying: "As someone who has served as Secretary of State at DFID, I find it shocking that British funds may have been abused, especially given the background of poverty in Pakistan which aid is meant to alleviate."

"We spend millions on anti-corruption initiatives and yet it seems clear that Britain is still a money-launderers’ paradise. It’s vital we now co-operate with the Pakistani investigation, to ensure those allegedly responsible come up against the full force of the law," she is quoted as saying in the report.


Growth in assets

"A confidential investigation report, seen by this newspaper, says the family was worth just £150,000 in 2003 but by 2018 their total assets had grown to about £200 million. Among other properties, Shahbaz owns a 53,000 sq ft palace in Lahore, which has its own large security force," says the The Mail article.

Quoting the "confidential report", the article says the "family’s legitimate income sources could not account for their riches. The money, the report says, was channelled from abroad – via several elaborate money-laundering schemes, in which Britain played a central role".

"The report claims laundered payments were made to Shahbaz’s children, his wife and his son-in-law Ali Imran. But it adds that Shahbaz ‘was the principal beneficiary of this money-laundering enterprise, by way of spending, acquisition of properties and their expansion into palatial houses where he lived'."


Birmingham scheme

The article mentions three individuals, Manzoor Ahmed, Mehboob Ali, and Aftab Mehmood, as being used for "one of the most audacious schemes" said to be focused on Birmingham. "The report lists 202 ‘personal remittances’ from the UK and the United Arab Emirates into the bank accounts of Shahbaz’s wife, two sons and two daughters."

Narrating his meeting with Aftab Mehmood — the proprietor of Usman International, a money-changing firm in the Sparkbrook area of Birmingham — at Lahore’s city jail, David Rose writes: "He explained how the money-laundering worked. ‘I would just receive a fax from Pakistan with the names of the people I was to wire money to. I knew who they were: they were famous. It wasn’t my business to ask where the money came from. I simply transferred it, and I did it through the proper channels.'

"So where had this money come from? In fact, say investigators, it had been taken as kickbacks and ‘commissions’ from government-run projects and delivered by ‘cash boys’ in bulging sacks to the office of Mehmood’s Lahore contact, Shahed Rafiq. In jail, Rafiq confirmed this, adding: ‘I don’t know where the cash came from. It was just business.’

"The last part of the scheme was ingenious. How did Rafiq ensure that when Mehmood wired money to the accounts in Pakistan, he was not out of pocket? The answer is that Mehmood’s company in Birmingham also did legitimate money transfers and had thousands of clients who wanted to send money to relatives in Pakistan. If he was asked to send £100,000 to one of Shahbaz’s sons, he would simply wait until he had funds from UK customers who wanted to send equivalent sums to Pakistan.

"Then, instead of wiring the money to his customers’ relatives, it is claimed he would send it under the names of fake investors to Shahbaz’s family’s bank accounts. In Lahore, Rafiq would give the relatives the stolen money which had been brought by the cash boys," says the article.

The Mail quotes investigators as saying payments made by this method totalled £21 million – but were merely the tip of the iceberg.

"They say they have traced a further £9.1 million from ‘ghost’ investors who do not exist, and fake loans and investments in family companies. Their value, they claim, amounts to a further £160 million."

 

[Path-Finder]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1150374109018238977

well the tubbar has good links with india so they will remain mum about india.

 

[alibaz]

So when SS is going to sue Rose and the news paper. He should be asked to initiate proceedings in British courts to prove Rose wrong else quit politics.

 

[koolio]

So when SS is going to sue Rose and the news paper. He should be asked to initiate proceedings in British courts to prove Rose wrong else quit politics.

No they wont do that, as usual Godfather's family and thier pets are barking like mad dogs, this family dont have any balls to sue the newspaper for the alleged story regarding misusing the money, Godfather's family along with black Zardari dracula are a dark curse for Pakistan which need to be eliminated.

 

[Flight of falcon]

Unbelievable.,, this kanjar family is simply unbelievable . I wonder if one brother who was the CM stole over 200 million pounds how much more his PM brother stole?
We need to get each and every member of this harami family and hang them . My blood is boiling .