Sharifs give to SC Qatari Prince's letter on London flats

Pakistan's Sharif family on Thursday submitted second letter from a Qatari prince in the Supreme Court to establish the money trail behind four London apartments, which are at the centre of the Panamagate trial being heard by a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court.

In the fresh letter to the court, Qatari Prince Hamad Bin Jasim Bin Jaber Al Thani claimed that an investment of 12 million dirhams ($3.26 million) contributed by Muhammad Sharif (father of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif) was made "by way of provision of cash".

The Prime Minister's counsel Salman Akram Raja submitted to the apex court that an amount of $8 million was due to Mian Sharif. It was settled "by the way of delivery of bearer shares of Nescol Ltd and Neilson Enterprises Ltd to a representative of PM Sharif's son Hussain Nawaz in 2006".

In November last year, the Sharif family revealed that the four luxury apartments were purchased through offshore investments involving a member of the Qatari royal family.

In the earlier letter, the Qatari Prince stated that his father had longstanding business relations with Nawaz Sharif's father, which were coordinated through the Prince's eldest brother.

"As per my understanding, at that time an aggregate sum of around 12 million dirhams was contributed by Mian Sharif, originating from the sale of business in Dubai, UAE," the Qatari Prince's letter said.

Nawaz Sharif's sons Hassan and Hussain Nawaz also submitted their replies in the apex court with certain facts and documents to establish the money trail for the purchase of the offshore property.

During the hearing, Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, who was heading a five-judge larger bench of the apex court to hear a string of petitions filed against the Sharif family over alleged corruption, sought the complete record of the gift transactions from the Sharif family.

--IANS

ahm/vt