Verdict reserved in £190m settlement case against Imran, Bushra

• Imran’s counsel says NAB failed to establish “crime”.
• Says “social work” being used for political victimisation.
• “Our case is about obtaining illegal benefits,” says NAB prosecutor.

Following the conclusion of arguments by all parties, an accountability court in Rawalpindi on Wednesday reserved its verdict in the £190 million settlement case against PTI founder Imran Khan, and his wife Bushra Bibi.

Judge Nasir Javed Rana reserved the ruling as counsels of PTI founder Khan and his wife concluded their final arguments in the case. The prosecution team, however, completed its arguments a day earlier.

Verdict in the high-profile case will be announced on December 3, announced the accountability judge.

During the one-year long trial, National Accountability Bureau (NAB) recorded testimonies of 35 witnesses, including former principal secretary Azam Khan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ex-chief minister Pervez Khattak and former federal minister Zubaida Jalal.

The incarcerated ex-premier and former first lady were indicted in the high-profile corruption case on February 27 last year.

At the outset of today’s hearing, NAB Prosecutor Amjad Pervez, while terming the £190m graft case as the biggest in the country’s history, argued that the procedure to adjust the amount was against the rules.

“Our case is about obtaining illegal benefits,” he told the court.

Defence counsel Barrister Salman Safdar claimed that the anti-graft watchdog could not establish “crime” in the case so far as the amount was with the government.

“Nobody received benefits or suffered loss in the case.”

Referring to the Al-Qadir Trust University, the lawyer said that “social work” was being used for political victimisation.

Terming his clients innocent, he said: “PTI founder and Bushra Bibi didn’t get any financial benefit.”

The 71-year-old cricketer-turned-politician has been behind bars since August last year after he was sentenced in Toshakhana case-I — one of the dozens cases registered against the former premier since his ouster from power in April 2022.

What is £190 million case?

The NAB had filed the reference against Khan, Bushra, and others in December 2023.

The couple is facing a NAB inquiry related to a settlement between the PTI government and a property tycoon, which reportedly caused a loss of £190 million to the national exchequer.

As per the charges, Khan and other accused allegedly adjusted Rs50 billion — £190 million at the time — sent by the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) to the Pakistani government as part of the agreement with the property tycoon.

Bushra was nominated as an accused in the case for being a trustee of the Al-Qadir Trust.

They are also accused of getting undue benefit in the form of over 458 kanals of land at Mouza Bakrala, Sohawa, to establish Al Qadir University.

During the PTI government, the NCA seized assets worth £190 million from the property tycoon in Britain.

The UK agency said the assets would be passed to the government of Pakistan and the settlement with the Pakistani property tycoon was “a civil matter, and does not represent a finding of guilt”.

Subsequently, then-prime minister Khan got approval for the settlement with the UK crime agency from his cabinet on December 3, 2019, without disclosing the details of the confidential agreement.

It was decided that the money would be submitted to the Supreme Court on behalf of the tycoon.

Subsequently, the Al-Qadir Trust was established in Islamabad a few weeks after the PTI-led government approved the agreement with the property tycoon.