£190m case: Accountability court reserves decision on acquittal plea of Bushra Bibi

ISLAMABAD: An accountability court on Wednesday reserved its decision on the acquittal plea of Bushra Bibi, the wife of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan, in a case concerning a £190 million settlement.

The former prime minister and his wife are accused of causing significant financial losses to the national treasury in a case also involving a prominent property tycoon.

Accountability Court Judge Nasir Javed Rana will announce the verdict on Bushra Bibi’s plea tomorrow (Thursday), following the conclusion of arguments from both sides.

Due to security concerns, the couple was presented in a temporary courtroom set up at Adiala Jail for the hearing. However, the cross-examination of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) investigation officer did not take place as Imran Khan’s lawyer was absent.

Bushra Bibi’s lawyer, Usman Riaz Gul, argued for her acquittal, while the NAB opposed the petition. Following these arguments, the judge dismissed a request to initiate contempt proceedings against the NAB chairman, deeming it “ineffective.”

Earlier, the couple had secured post-arrest bail from the accountability court in the same case in early July. However, they remained in custody due to the iddat case, also known as the un-Islamic nikah case.

The couple was acquitted in the iddat case on July 13, but they were subsequently arrested in a new Toshakhana reference filed by the anti-corruption agency.

The charges against them allege that Imran Khan and others misused Rs50 billion (equivalent to £190 million at the time) sent by Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) to the Pakistani government as part of a settlement with the property tycoon.

On December 3, 2019, then Prime Minister Khan obtained cabinet approval for the settlement with the UK crime agency without disclosing the details of the confidential agreement.

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

According to NAB officials, Imran Khan and his wife allegedly received land worth billions of rupees from the property tycoon, intended for the construction of an educational institute, in exchange for facilitating the legal settlement of the tycoon’s black money received from the UK crime agency.