LAHORE: For over a year now, the sweetness of sugar has gone sour — at least for common Pakistanis. They remain at the mercy of the powerful sugar mafia, despite the identification of the main culprits responsible for the last year’s multi-billion rupees scam. But the clout of the mafia members is big, their pockets are deep and intentions clear; to fleece the public through cartelization. They jacks up the sugar price at will and creates its artificial shortages through hoarding without any fear of accountability.

It was in 2020 when the infamous sugar scandal made the headlines, forcing Prime Minister Imran Khan to form a high-powered Sugar Commission to probe the matter. After a couple of months, the commission submitted its report, holding the country’s powerful business-cum-political families of the Sharifs, the Tareens, the Khusros and the Chaudhrys responsible for making undue gains amounting to billions from the sugar industry. The premier termed those groups a ‘mafia’ and vowed to expose them. He further announced to hold all the big players accountable by sending the matter to the FIA, the NAB and the FBR for further action.

The sugar prices at that time hovered around Rs 70 per kg — considerably higher compared to 2018. Today, the sugar prices have sky-rocketed to Rs 120 per kg, but none of the culprits have been indicted, fined or arrested.

The FIA, which became hyper-active soon after the scam was exposed in November 2020, registered an FIR against Shehbaz Sharif and his family in Lahore for their alleged involvement in money laundering to the tune of Rs 25 billion. On the same day, a similar FIR was registered against a former close aide of Prime Minister Imran Khan, Jahangir Khan Tareen and his family for their alleged money laundering worth Rs six billion.

The quick registration of FIRs raised hopes among the people that justice would soon be done. However, the FIA didn’t arrest any of the accused. At that time, Shehbaz and his son Hamza were in jail in a NAB reference and they could have easily been arrested in the sugar case too. However, by design or default, the authorities failed to act on time, giving Sharifs and Tareens ample time to secure pre-arrest bails from a banking court in Lahore.

Challans presented against Sharif & family

A year after the sugar scam broke out, the FIA has finally managed to complete investigations and submitted a challan this week. But the challan is only against Shehbaz Sharif and his family, whereas investigations against Jahangir Tareen and his family are still in a limbo, let alone filing a proper case in the court.

Similarly, investigations against Khusros, Chaudhrys – who are part of Imran Khan’s coalition government — and some other influential business groups are going nowhere.

The challan against the PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif and his family was presented in a special court at Lahore. While submitting the challan, the FIA claimed that the investigations into the affairs of Ramzan Sugar Mills, owned and managed by Sharifs, was one of the extremely complex cases of money laundering.

According to the challan, the FIA team unearthed 28 (secret) benami bank accounts operated from 2008 to 2018 in the names of peons and clerks of Sharif Group in various banks of Lahore and Chiniot.

During this tenure, Shehbaz held office as Chief Minister Punjab for two consecutive terms, while his elder son Hamza Shehbaz was an MNA.

Similarly, according to the FIA, its investigation team analyzed money-trails of over 17,000 transactions to the tune of Rs 16,304 Million (Rs 16.3 billion) into 28 (secret) bank accounts.

In the challan, the FIA has submitted a list of 20 witnesses — majority of whom employees of those private banks where ‘benami’ accounts were opened. Similarly, the FIA also submitted the names of two special witnesses as experts, including Zaki Tariq, Deputy Director SBP (Banking Services Corporation and presently serving in FIA (Lahore) on attachment basis and Adil Iftikhar, Assistant Director SECP, also presently serving in FIA (Lahore) on attachment basis.

“Indelible documentary evidence has emerged during the investigation, which shows that massive amount of money in these accounts come from sources which are totally unrelated/ extraneous to sugar business and includes gratifications.”

Moreover, according to the FIA, the evidence also shows the direct involvement of Shehbaz Sharif in the affairs of Sharif Group in patronizing these accounts in his capacity as chief minister.

According to the FIA, evidence comprising seven additional volumes (over 4,000 pages), which proves money-laundering of Rs.16 billion, have been submitted in the court for commencement of trial. The Challan holds Shehbaz, Hamza (both on pre-arrest bail) and Suleman Shehbaz (an absconder) as the principal accused, while 14 benami account-holders, peons & clerks and six facilitators, as co-accused.

The FIA stated that being public office holders, Shehbaz Sharif and Hamza Shehbaz, have the onus of proving that they were not involved in criminal misconduct/money-laundering and that all this illicit wealth was in fact acquired from the lawful means.

The FIA further maintained that Shehbaz Sharif and Hamza didn’t cooperate fully with investigators and whatever response they gave, was evasive and irrelevant to the questions put before them.

Contrary to that, Shehbaz Sharif accused the FIA of implicating him and his family in a ‘concocted’ case with a malafide intention.

Similarly, Hamza Shehbaz, despite being the chief executive officer of RSML from 2008 till 2018, not only denied any administrative/ financial control over the affairs of RSML and any contact whatsoever with its employees but also expressed his total ignorance about who were depositing funds in the benami accounts.

Shehbaz’s youngest son, Suleman Shehbaz had already fled to the UK on October 27, 2018 after the FIA served him three notices, seeking his response in the sugar scam. He is now a proclaimed offender since April 2021.

Meanwhile, several cash boys and alleged facilitators of the Sharifs, including Malik Maqsood Ahmed, Shoaib Qamar, Syed M. Tahir Naqvi and Rizwan Qureshi have also fled the country during the investigation and they are yet to surrender before the FIA.

Tarar refutes FIA claims

Talking to Bol News, Ataullah Tarar, chief legal advisor of Shehbaz Sharif, termed the FIA case against the Sharifs as frivolous and unfounded. He alleged that the FIA has been trying to falsely frame his clients with concocted and fake evidence.

He said that the FIA took over a year to prepare the challan but it contained everything which has already been investigated by the NAB with no results to show in the superior courts.

The senior counsel further said that not only Pakistani courts but even a superior court in London has given a verdict in favour of the Sharif family by stating that no corruption has been committed by them.

Tarar alleged that FIA’s entire activity against the Sharif family was being done on the insistence of Advisor to PM Shahzad Akbar, saying that he would respond to each and every query against his clients when the trial begins.

Shahzad Akbar confident

When Advisor to the PM on Interior and Accountability, Barrister Mirza Shahzad Akbar approached, he said that the FIA has prepared a comprehensive challan after following all the legal formalities. While admitting that the FIA took a year to complete the task, he said the scope of investigation was wide and complex. “The FIA had to go through so many documents, banking transactions and seek records from various institutions,” he elaborated.

The Advisor further said that the money laundering case against Shehbaz and family was straight forward and simple in which over a dozen employees of Ramzan Sugar Mills were used to launder more than Rs 16 billion.

He, however, clarified that this money laundering case has nothing to do with the sugar scam. “It is also not a case of tax evasion… and is similar to the one filed against the Omni Group.”

Responding to another query, the Akbar said that Shehbaz and his son obtained pre-arrest bails from a banking court, but the FIA investigation show that the case pertains to an Anti-Corruption court.

“On the insistence of the banking court, the FIA has submitted the challan there. But they have also filed an application stating that offences against accused persons don’t fall in the domain of a banking court.”

Akbar further said that he has been told that the banking court has fixed the matter for hearing on December 24 to decide the issue of jurisdiction.

The Advisor said that through such actions, this matter will further be delayed and people are already blaming courts for the delayed justice.

He claimed that there is a high probability that on the basis of available documentary evidence, Shehbaz and Hamza would be convicted by the learned court.

Whither challans against Tareens, Khusros?

Shahzad Akbar said that cases against Jahangir Tareen, Khusro Bakhtiar and others would be completed soon. “We are pursuing them. It is just that the FIA team has remained occupied in this particular case of the Sharifs and have not had much time to prepare detailed cases against the others.

However, sources revealed that the FIA Lahore Director Mohammad Rizwan, who had registered FIRs against some 30 sugar mills, including those owned by Tareens, Chaudhrys, Shehbaz as well as against the satta agents having close links with the mills, had declared that the agency would soon arrest Tareen and others after the forensic audit of the evidence.

But once the government reached an understanding with the Tareen group, Rizwan was removed as the head of the investigation team and forensic audit was not pursued, sources said.

Sources in the FIA further said that Tareen had been given relief on ‘technical grounds’. The forensic audit based on the evidence collected by the FIA Lahore in March this year – under which the agency had registered three FIRs against him and his son – is yet to be done despite a passage of over eight months, an official said.

Manzoor Watto speaks

Meanwhile, Senior PPP leader and former Chief Minister Punjab Mian Manzoor Ahmad Wattoo, commenting on the money laundering case against Shehbaz and family said that the accused should not hide behind excuses and respond to these serious allegations.

“They are responsible people and should respond to such allegations with responsibility rather than dodging the queries and hiding behind excuses,” said Wattoo.

The former CM said Shehbaz and family should answer as to why transactions of billions of rupees were reported in the accounts of the low-wage employees of the Ramzan Sugar Mills. “Where has the money come from [into accounts of employees]?”

Wattoo said in 1998-99, Sharifs lodged several cases against him and his family members through the infamous Ehtisab Bureau of Saifur Rehman, but he successfully defended himself in the court and emerged unscathed.