Imran Khan, PTI Chairman, has been named in a National Accountability Bureau (NAB) reference along with seven others, including his wife Bushra Bibi and property tycoon Malik Riaz, in connection with the Al-Qadir Trust case. The case alleges that Imran and his wife obtained billions of rupees and land worth hundreds of kanals from Bahria Town Ltd for legalizing Rs50 billion that was identified and returned to the country by the UK during the previous PTI government.
Imran was previously arrested in this case from the Islamabad High Court premises but was later released after the Supreme Court declared the arrest unlawful. On Nov 14, he was arrested again and handed over to the accountability watchdog on physical remand before being sent on judicial remand. Others mentioned in the reference include Farhat Shahzadi, Mirza Shahzad Akbar, Zulfi Bukhari, Ziaul Mustafa Nasim, and Ahmed Riaz. The reference says that Imran played a pivotal role in the illicit transfer of funds and that the investigation has established that the accused committed corruption and corrupt practices.
The case is related to the illegal acquisition of land for and construction of Al-Qadir University, involving unlawful benefit given in the recovery of prime proceeds through the UK’s National Crime Agency in a money laundering case against real estate tycoon Riaz and his family. Imran is also accused of misleading the cabinet by concealing facts related to the settlement agreement. The Supreme Court had ordered that an amount of Rs35 billion be transferred to the federal government in connection with the Bahria Town settlement.