ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau, Lahore, has decided to auction former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s properties to recover the £8m (more than Rs1 billion) fine imposed on him in the Avenfield reference.
The sealed properties will be auctioned and the proceeds will be submitted in the government’s kitty. An order was passed to all Lahore DCs Tuesday, instructing them to provide details of Nawaz’s sealed properties in the city.
The recoveries will be initiated under the Land Revenue Act, 1967. According to NAB, here are the properties owned by the former prime minister in Lahore:
Moza Manak – 940 kanal, 2 marlas
-Moza Badoki Sana – 299 kanal, 12 marlas
-Moza Mall – 103 kanal, 6 marals
-Moza Sultankey – 312 kanal, 14 marlas
-House No. 135, Upper Mall
The accountability court has also held that the convict shall be disqualified to contest elections or hold public offices for a period of 10 years. The case proceedings are being overseen by NAB Chairman Javed Iqbal.
Avenfield case
In July 2018, an accountability court in Islamabad sentenced Nawaz Sharif to 10 years in prison and a fine of eight million pounds was imposed on him in a case linked to the Sharif family’s purchase of upscale London flats.
It said the Sharifs could not legitimately show the money trail for the purchase of the luxury properties in London, mostly in the mid-1990s. A copy of the verdict said the Sharif family had failed to prove a legal source of income for the purchase of the Avenfield apartments.
The verdict came as a serious blow to PML-N’s troubled campaign ahead of the 2018 General Elections.
Consequently, Nawaz filed an appeal in the Islamabad High Court against the judgement. It was, however, dismissed. Nawaz and his son Hussain Nawaz Sharif were declared proclaimed offenders in the case and arrest warrants were issued against them.
The PML-N founder’s daughter Maryam Nawaz and Captain (retd) Muhammad Safdar were accused in the case as well. Maryam has been sentenced to seven years in prison and a fine of two million pounds has been imposed on her. Safdar has, on the other hand, been given a punishment of a year in prison.
