Court likely to 'delay' ruling in £190m graft case against Imran, Bushra

• Hearing to be held in accountability court in Islamabad.
• Court to give new date for announcement of verdict.
• PTI's legal team has been notified of development.
  

An accountability court would not pronounce its reserved verdict in the £190 million settlement case against incarcerated Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and his spouse, Bushra Bibi, sources claimed on Sunday.

Sources told Geo News that the hearing of the case against the couple would be held today (Monday) in the accountability court in Islamabad instead of Adiala Jail, where the former prime minister is incarcerated.

Meanwhile, the PTI's legal team has also been notified of the development as the accountability court would give new date for the announcement of verdict today, sources added. The ruling would be announced in the first week of January 2025, they said.

On December 18, Accountability Judge Nasir Javed Rana reserved the ruling after the counsels of PTI founder Khan and his wife concluded their final arguments in the case. The incarcerated ex-premier and former first lady were indicted in the high-profile corruption case on February 27 last year.  

During the one-year long trial, the 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 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 the 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 of the case, Imran and other accused allegedly adjusted Rs50 billion — £190 million at the time — sent by Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) to the Pakistani government as part of the agreement with a property tycoon.

Subsequently, the then-prime minister 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.

According to the NAB officials, the PTI founder and his wife obtained land worth billions of rupees from the property tycoon, to build an educational institute, in return for striking a deal to give legal cover to the property tycoon’s black money received from the UK crime agency.

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