Papad-seller transferred over $16m to Shehbaz family accounts, reveals NAB

LAHORE : An investigation into money laundering charges against PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif and members of his family has revealed that a papad-seller transferred a staggering $16.08 million to their accounts. According to a National Accountability Bureau (NAB) document, the corruption watchdog detected more than Rs88 million worth of twelve financial transactions made in the name of Manzoor, a papad-seller. Of the total amount,$907,015 were moved into an account owned by Shehbaz’s son Salman Shehbaz, $167,980 were transferred to the Punjab Assembly Opposition Leader Hamza Shehbaz’s account, and $240,920 were moved to the account of Rabia Imran. It was reported on June 19 that NAB had expanded the spectrum of investigations against Shehbaz Sharif and his family in the ongoing money laundering case against them. The anti-graft watchdog claimed that the sources of income told by the Shehbaz Sharif family for their accumulated wealth are fake, make believe and undisclosed. According to a NAB report on the properties owned by the family and its patriarch Shehbaz amounted to Rs2 million in the year 1990. After being appointed chief minister Punjab for the first time in 1997, Shehbaz and family’s assets saw a considerable boost, now worth Rs30.5 million. In the year 2003, Shehbaz Sharif, Hamza Shehbaz and Salman Shehbaz filed their accumulative wealth separately which notified the family assets had now exceeded Rs40 million. From the year 2004 till the year 2008 no member of the family except Hamza Shehbaz submitted his asset details, the reported read further.