Lahore’s Special Court (Central) on Monday acquitted Suleman Shehbaz, son of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in a Rs16 billion money laundering case registered with the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

Suleman, who returned to Pakistan in December 2022 after four years of self-exile in London, was accused in the money laundering case registered with the FIA while the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had nominated him in an assets-beyond-means reference.

He was declared a proclaimed offender in both cases. But prior to his return, the Islamabad High Court had restrained both the authorities from arresting him. In October last year, a special court had also acquitted the prime minister and his elder son, Hamza Shehbaz, in the same case.

During today’s hearing, Suleman appeared in court accompanied by his counsel, Advocate Amjad Parvez, while the FIA submitted its response to 27 questions asked by the court.

According to the detailed court verdict, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, the joint investigation team (JIT) members were asked to show “any iota of incriminating evidence” against Suleman and Syed Muhammad Tahir Naqvi but they “remained bewildered throughout the court proceedings, they remained clamouring with one and avowed that they were forced to sign the report under section 173 Criminal Procedure Code and after going through all the seven volumes they unanimously stated before the court that there is no incriminating evidence against the accused”.

The court order added that the JIT members further unveiled that Mirza Shahzad Akbar, the former accountability czar, had kept forcing them to involve Suleman and others in the case.

The order said the allegation of being an abettor was levelled against Suleman “without any evidence”, further saying that the then-JIT’s conclusion that he might have abetted the commission of the crime showed that the entire story involving him and Naqvi was “jotted down and the allegations levelled against him are based on ariform, conjectures and suppositions which has no value in the legal terminology”.

The judge observed that “in the wake of questions and answers … I am of the affirm view that no incriminating material is available on the record on the basis of which any valid charge can be framed against the accused […] They are discharged from this case.”

Judge Bakht Fakhar Bahzad said he felt it important to register that regarding confirmation of Akbar’s involvement in the case by the JIT members, they and the FIA director general (DG) at the time had “failed to evoke the sympathies of the court”.

The judge added that the former FIA DG also “intentionally not appeared before this court and has also deliberately avoided to answer all the questionnaires”.

The court order said that when “janitors of law and hegemony of FIA become tool in the fiendish act of falsely involving the accused persons, now the time has come to take the stern action [against] who remained actors and factors in this whole episode.”

The judge pointed out that the FIA because of its conduct was found to be a “wolf in the sheep’s skin” and had tarnished its image and lowered its honour in the public perception.

“I issue the directions to Secretary Establishment Islamabad to take legal action against the then-DG FIA, then then-investigating officer namely Syed Ali Mardan, then then-deputy director Umayad Arshad Butt, Ahsan Hani Ali Bajwa and the then-deputy director (law) Munazzah Shaheen and Shahzad Akbar … for launching the frivolous and baseless prosecution against Suleman Shehbaz and Syed Muhammad Tahir Naqvi … so that in future other officers should learn the lesson and should restrain themselves of obeying the illegal orders of their superiors,” the judge directed.

He ordered that a copy of his verdict be sent to the establishment secretary for “strict compliance”.

The hearing

At the outset of the hearing, Judge Bakht Fakhar Bahzad asked who had inquired about the money laundering, to which the FIA’s counsel, Farooq Bajwa, answered that a joint investigation team presided by Dr Rizwan — former FIA director general — had initiated the inquiry.

“Has the FIA recorded a single witness statement during the entire investigation?” the judge inquired, at which FIA Investigation Officer (IO) Ali Mardan remained silent.

“What action was taken against those who kept changing their narrative during the inquiry and the investigation?” Judge Bahzad further asked. Bajwa responded that no action was taken.

The judge then proceeded to remark, “Is there any evidence in the FIA’s seven volumes? Tell me simply — do not insert any stories. I have read everything.”

He warned the FIA that he could send all the agency’s officials to jail right away and asserted that he wanted the answer as to what the evidence was for the alleged crime along with the challan.

At one point during the hearing, Suleman’s lawyer said that ex-FIA director general Bashir Memon also used to state that he was pressurised to file the case.

Meanwhile, the FIA counsel said there was no “direct evidence” against Suleman pertaining to money laundering.

Judge Bahzad asked the IO to tell the court if there was any “indirect” evidence. Bajwa replied, “The action was initiated in light of the sugar inquiry commission’s report.”

At that, the judge inquired about action taken against “other sugar mills” to which the IO responded that he had no knowledge of it as he was not tasked with probing the matter. He said that he was assigned to probe the money laundering case.

Here, Judge Bahzad observed that the FIA had obtained Suleman’s account details during the course of the investigation, to which the IO confirmed that the details were taken but the “account was not used”.

“Why did you make the case against him when his account was not used,” the judge asked. The IO replied, “Money used to be deposited into Suleman Shehbaz’s accounts and was taken out in cash.”

“Depositing money and taking it out — what kind of a crime is this?” the judge asked. “This is why I had called the FIA that they come and tell what drama has been going on for years.”

Judge Bahzad also inquired about who used to give the records to Mirza Shahzad Akbar, the former accountability czar, which allowed him to hold press conferences.

At that, the FIA IO said, “I remember that once, Shahzad Akbar came to the Lahore office.”

Subsequently, Judge Bahzad acquitted all suspects in the case, including Suleman.

The cases

The FIA had booked Shehbaz and his sons Hamza and Suleman in November 2020 under sections 419, 420, 468, 471, 34 and 109 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, read with Sections 3/4 of the Anti Money Laundering Act.

Arrest warrants had been issued for Suleman. However, in its report submitted to the court, the FIA had stated that the warrants could not be executed since Suleman was not present at his address and had gone abroad.

A trial court had also declared him a proclaimed offender, along with another suspect in the Rs16bn money laundering case, in July 2022.

According to the FIA report, the investigation team “detected 28 benami accounts of the Shehbaz family through which money laundering of Rs16.3bn was committed from 2008-18. The FIA examined a money trail of 17,000 credit transactions.”

The report added that the amount was kept in “hidden accounts” and “given to Shehbaz in a personal capacity”.

In October 2019, the NAB seized Suleman’s shares amounting to Rs2bn in 16 companies along with cash worth Rs4.1 million held in three bank accounts as well as 10 marlas agricultural land and pieces of land spreading over 209 kanals.

The NAB had also alleged that assets worth Rs3.3bn had been identified back then as illegally accumulated by Suleman, Hamza and Shehbaz.

This was after an accountability court in Lahore declared him a proclaimed offender in October 2019 after a NAB prosecutor said the bureau had issued at least six call-up notices to the suspect, but he did not respond and fled the country to avoid investigation.