The court allowed bail to Maryam Nawaz against two surety bonds with Rs 10 million each.
LAHORE: (Urdu Point/Pakistan Point News-Nov 4th, 2019) The Lahore High Court has granted bail to PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz Sharif in Chaudhary Sugar Mills.
A LHC division headed by Justice Ali Baqir Najfi announced the reserved judgment on Maryam Nawaz's release. The bench last week reserved the judgment after hearing arguments of both sides.
National Accountability Bureau (NAB) prosecutor responded to the arguments recorded by defence lawyer Amjad Pervez and opposed Maryam’s bail in the case, saying that proceedings against her were started in accordance with the law on the basis of a report of Financial Monitoring Unit in 2018.
The NAB told the bench: " The chances are that the accused may flee abroad or go underground if released on bail,".
Advocate Amjad Pervez, the counsel of Maryam Nawaz, argued that money laundering case against his client was baseless and that she was made Chief Executive of Chaudhry Sugar Mills only in papers. NAB had breached law and arrested Maryam in money laundering case despite revealing all the assets in Panama Leaks case, he argued.
During the proceedings, the NAB had submitted preliminary investigative report to the LHC submitting that PML-N vice-president’s crime was not against one individual but the entire society, and she on obstructed the probe against her. "Yousaf Abbas, accused in Chaudhry Sugar Mills reference, had also tried to escape before", the NAB said.
It may be mentioned here that PML-N leader owned 8,064,000 shares of Sugar Mills, while from 2008 to 2010, she became the owner of 47% shares. Nawaz Sharif and his daughter, Maryam Nawaz, invested in Chaudhry and Shamim Sugar Mills, but both of them did not disclose their investments.
Maryam Nawaz last week moved her petition before the LHC seek her release on bail.
The same bench allowed bail to Nawaz Sharif, her father, in the same Chaudhary Sugar Mills case on medical grounds.
On August 8, NAB team arrested Maryam Nawaz outside the Kot Lakhpat Jail in Lahore when she went there to see her father in jail. She did not appear before the NAB to provide the required details of foreign investment in sugar mills while she was also failed to satisfy the bureau regarding source of income for purchasing the shares. NAB had also claimed that three foreigners had transferred 11000 shares worth millions of rupees on Maryam Nawaz’s name.
On July 19, accountability court had turned down petition of NAB claiming Maryam Nawaz had produced a bogus trust deed in Avenfield reference.
Judge Mohammad Bashir had declared anti-corruption watchdog’s appeal as unmaintainable and ruled that no action can be taken in this regard until the decision of Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Maryam’s petition against the Avenfield properties verdict.
On July 6, 2018, accountability judge Mohammad Bashir had convicted former premier Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz in Avenfield properties reference and sentenced them 10 years and 07 years imprisonment, respectively.
In the verdict, judge Bashir had declared that “The trust deeds produced by the accused Maryam Nawaz were also found bogus… In view of the role of this accused Maryam Nawaz, she is convicted and sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for seven years with fine of two million Pounds.”
She was arrested and shifted to Adiala jail. Later, in September 2018, and was released from jail after the Islamabad High Court suspended her prison sentence
