World Bank denies Nawaz Sharif laundered $4.9 bn to India

The World Bank on Tuesday denied the media reports claiming that its 2016 report on remittances mentioned that Pakistan's former prime minister Nawaz Sharif laundered $4.9 billion money to India, raising a question on the credibility of the anti-corruption watchdog.

"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. The report does not include any mention of money laundering nor does it name any individuals," the World Bank clarified in a statement.

"We would also like to refer to a statement by the State Bank of Pakistan SBP rejects estimates of US$4.9 billion remittances from Pakistan to India on September 21, 2016, refuting the $4.9 billion remittances number and providing an explanation of the methodology used in the World Bank report and the official remittances numbers," the statement added.

Pakistan's National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has ordered an inquiry against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and others for allegedly laundering $4.9 billion to India, according to reports in the Pakistani media.

A statement by the NAB, which ordered the inquiry based on a media report, claimed that the amount was laundered to the Indian finance ministry after which Indian foreign exchange reserves witnessed an increase and Pakistan suffered as a result, reported Pakistan's Geo News.

According to the media report, the incident was mentioned in the World Bank's Migration and Remittance Book 2016.

However, the details of the media report based on which the NAB ordered inquiry, were not jotted in the statement.