Imran Khan, Bushra Bibi challenge conviction in £190m reference

• Imran's lawyer says NAB did not complete its investigation. 
• Agreement's text was not obtained from NCA, he says.
• It shows hesitation of investigating agency, says Safdar.

ISLAMABAD: Imran Khan, the founding chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), and his wife Bushra Bibi have challenged the conviction in the £190 million case by the accountability court two months after the verdict, The News reported.

Barrister Salman Safdar filed the petition, arguing that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had abused its authority by hurriedly sentencing them on the basis of an incomplete investigation without receiving the agreement's content from the National Crime Agency (NCA).

Which, as per the petition, shows the hesitation of the investigating agency, as the investigation involving NCA officials was not even conducted, and the prosecution has failed to present its full case.

The petition requested the court to suspend the January 17th’s conviction, verdict, and sentence, pending the central appeal’s final decision, with an assurance of the petitioners’ presence at every appeal hearing following the suspension.

An accountability court in Islamabad convicted Imran and Bushra in the £190 million reference on January 17.

Accountability Court Judge Nasir Javed Rana handed down a 14-year sentence to the PTI founder and a seven-year sentence to his wife, while also slapping heavy fines on them during a proceeding held inside a makeshift court at the Adiala jail.

Bushra — who came to attend the hearing— was also taken into custody following the announcement of the verdict.

As per the verdict, the former prime minister Imran has been convicted for "corrupt practices" and "misuse of authority", while the first lady has been convicted for "involvement in illegal activities". The judge directed the authorities to give the Al-Qadir Trust University in the federal government's custody.

The court convicted Imran under Section 9(a)(ii)(iv)(vi) of the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999, for corruption and corrupt practices. Meanwhile, Bushra has been convicted under Section 9(a)(xii) of the same ordinance for "aiding, assisting, and abetting" corruption and corrupt practices.

The 148-page verdict mentioned that Bushra's role was limited to aiding and abetting the corruption offences, which is considered a mitigating circumstance in her sentencing.

It further said that the prosecution's case was based on documentary evidence, which was found to be credible and coherent, while the defence had been unable to discredit the prosecution's witnesses or create reasonable doubt in the case.

Both accused had filed applications under Section 265-K of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), which were dismissed by the court.

The court concluded that the prosecution had successfully proved its case "beyond any shadow of doubt", and the convictions were upheld.

Al-Qadir Trust case

The Al-Qadir Trust case, commonly known as the £190m case involved allegations that Imran and some others in 2019 adjusted Rs50 billion — amounting to £190 million at the time — sent by Britain's National Crime Agency (NCA) to the Pakistani government during his tenure as the country's prime minister.

The concerned amount relates to a property tycoon's assets which were seized by the NCA during PTI's rule. The British crime agency back then had said that the amount was supposed to be passed to the Government of Pakistan as its settlement with the Pakistani property tycoon was "a civil matter, and does not represent a finding of guilt".

However, the NAB filed a reference in December 2023, followed by charges against Imran and his wife, Bushra Bibi, on February 27, 2024, alleging that a settlement with the British crime agency was reached and approved by then-prime minister Imran on December 3, 2019, without disclosing details of the confidential agreement.

Although it was decided that the money would be submitted to the Supreme Court on behalf of the businessman concerned, Al-Qadir Trust was set up a few weeks later following an agreement — allegedly aimed at providing legal cover to the black money received from the NCA — with the property mogul.

PTI leaders Zulfi Bukhari, Babar Awan, the then-first lady Bushra, and her close friend Farhat Shehzadi alias Farah Gogi were appointed as members of the trust.

The anti-graft watchdog further accuses Bukhari, a close aide of the PTI founder, of receiving 458 kanals of land a few months after the cabinet's approval of the settlement.

The land was later transferred to the trust which is now registered in the name of Imran, Bushra and Farah after Bukhari and Awan opted out.

After authorities began probing the matter, Imran was arrested from the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on May 9, 2023.

This was the first time the ousted prime minister was arrested, followed by countrywide violent protests by the PTI supporters during which his supporters attacked and set fire to military and other state installations.

However, Imran was granted bail on IHC's orders after a few days, while the Supreme Court deemed also his arrest from the premises of the high court "illegal".

The trial, which spanned over a year, saw key witnesses testify, including former cabinet members Pervez Khattak and Zubaida Jalal, ex-principal secretary Azam Khan, and the chief financial officer of the Al-Qadir University.

Pervez Khattak testified that then-accountability adviser Mirza Shahzad Akbar presented a sealed document to the cabinet, describing it as an agreement between the Pakistani government and the NCA for the refund of crime proceeds.

Azam corroborated that Akbar had brought a sealed document for approval.

Zubaida Jalal stated that cabinet members were not informed about the transfer of "proceeds of crime" to the property tycoon.

During the trial, six co-accused, including Zulfi Bukhari, Farah Gogi, Mirza Shahzad Akbar, and Zia-ul-Mustafa Nasim, were declared absconders. The court ordered the freezing of their assets and bank accounts.

Imran submitted a list of 16 witnesses to the trial court, but the request to summon them was denied. Meanwhile, the case proceedings saw multiple judicial changes, with four judges — Judge Muhammad Bashir, Judge Nasir Javed Rana, Judge Muhammad Ali Warraich, and Judge Rana again — presiding over the hearings.