The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has decided to file a supplementary reference case against former president Asif Ali Zardari in the Park Lane Estate Company scandal.
The accountability watchdog has obtained new evidence after investigating the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan’s (SECP) relevant data and documents of witnesses in the same case while probing into allegations against Asif Ali Zardari.
All suspects including Zardari have been accused of fraudulently looting billions of rupees from the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP).
On July 29, an accountability court issued documents of the Park Lane reference against Zardari which testifies that the Asif Zardari had taken Rs 1.5 billion loan from the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) in the name of a fake company.
At that time, NAB had stated that it was proved during the investigation of the case that the PPP leader had done corruption and money laundering with the help of his close aides. The NAB further had stated the loans were taken by showing fake documents and those loans were later used for personal benefits.
According to the reference, Rs1.5 billion were taken in 2009 and Rs800 million were withdrawn in 2012. It had mentioned that the National Bank suffered a loss of Rs3.77 billion due to this fraud. It had further mentioned that Zardari as the president had forged documents to become eligible for the loan policy and pushed the NBP for loan approval.
Asif Zardari was a 25% shareholder in Park Lane Company and he also made a fake company Parthenon in the name of his employees. Besides, the property was also bought in the IBC Center where the bureau has sealed eight floors.
On July 1, the NAB had arrested Zardari in the Park Lane case while he was already in custody with the bureau’s Rawalpindi directorate in connection with the fake accounts case.
On June 10, Asif Ali Zardari had surrendered himself to a team of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) after IHC rejected his and his sister Faryal Talpur’s pre-arrest bail plea in the money laundering case.
The accountability watchdog had arrested him in June after the refusal of his pre-arrest bail by the Islamabad High Court in the fake bank accounts case.
The NAB has been conducting an investigation in pursuance of the Supreme Court’s verdict in the money laundering of billions through fake accounts case.
As per the prosecution, the Park Lane case is being investigated under different sections of NAO 1999 and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2010 for Zardari’s alleged involvement “in extending the loan and its misappropriation by M/S Parthenon Private Limited, M/S Park Lane Estate Private Limited and others”.
