NA body to quiz NAB chief over Nawaz's money laundering probe today

ISLAMABAD - National Assembly Standing Committee for Law and Justice has summoned anti-graft watchdog chief Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal today over the recent probe launched against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif on allegedly laundering money to India.

Earlier, National Accountability Bureau (NAB) head was summoned on April 16 but he excused himself from appearing before the NA body due to his prior commitments.

https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/headline/nab-chief-to-defend-probe-against-nawaz-before-na-body-today/

He had asked the committee to give him sufficient time to appear before it. On his request, the parliamentary panel issued him notice for April 22.

Iqbal has been asked to appear before the committee along with the NAB official involved in the investigations.

An in-camera session would be held as media has bee barred from the coverage of the meeting.

The action by NA body came after Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawmaker Rana Hayat raised the point of order in wake of the controversial probe.

Money Laundering Probe

On May 8, taking notice of a misleading newspaper article based on a ‘flawed’ report of the World Bank, the anti-corruption watchdog started verification whether Sharif was involved in sending $4.9 billion to India.

https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/headline/nab-launches-inquiry-against-nawaz-sharif-others-for-laundering-4-9-billion-to-india/

According to NAB, World Bank’s migration and remittance book released in September 2016 carried information that foreign exchange reserves of India increased by $4.9 billion after receiving the huge amount sent through money laundering, inflicting losses to Pakistan’s national kitty.

WB Rejects Reports

In a statement issued by the World Bank hours after the NAB’s announcement, it rejected that its Remittances and Migration Report of 2016 levelled $4.9 billion money-laundering accusations against the former premier.

https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/headline/world-bank-quashes-reports-of-money-laundering-by-nawaz-sharif/

“In the past day, there have been media reports citing the World Bank’s Remittances and Migration Report of 2016. These media reports were incorrect,” read the press release.

“The World Bank’s Remittances and Migration Report is an effort by the World Bank to estimate migration and remittances numbers across the world. The report does not include any mention of money laundering nor does it name any individuals,” it added.