World Bank denies reports that Sharif laundered USD 4.9 billion to India

The World Bank today described as incorrect media reports in Pakistan about allegations that former prime minister Nawaz Sharif laundered USD 4.9 billion to India.

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 World Bank said in a statement here.

The World Bank's Remittances and Migration Report is an effort by the World Bank to estimate migration and remittances numbers across the world, it said.

The report does not include any mention of money laundering nor does it name any individuals, said the World Bank, which was issued after media reports cited its annual report for allegations that Sharif laundered USD 4.9 billion from Pakistan to India.

In its annual report, the statement said that the World Bank estimates bilateral remittances between countries using the methodology summarised in the World Bank Working Paper 102 South-South migration and remittances by the authors of the report.

The World Bank also referred to a statement by the State Bank of Pakistan which rejects estimates of USD 4.9 billion in remittances from Pakistan to India on September 21, 2016, and provides an explanation of the methodology used in the World Bank report and the official remittances numbers.