£190m reference: AC to now announce verdict on January 6

ISLAMABAD: The verdict pertaining to the 190 million pound Al-Qadir Trust scandal case Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi would now be announced on January 6, 2025, an accountability court announced on Monday. The reference under AC Judge Nasir Javed Rana had earlier decided the verdict’s date as December 23 (today).

The delay in the verdict is due to winter vacations beginning from December 24 (tomorrow) till January 1.
The same was also conveyed to Khan’s defense counsel Khalid Yusuf and his team who were expecting the reserved verdict today .

Earlier this month, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) completed final arguments in the 190-million-pound reference against Khan and Bushra Bibi at Adiala jail.

NAB prosecutor Amjad Parvez gave the final arguments and informed the court that a confidential deed was signed between the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA) and Pakistan’s Asset Recovery Unit on 6 November 2019. He argued that the government at the time did not have the authority to keep the agreement between the NCA and the private housing society confidential. 

Also read: £190m case: NAB files reference against Imran Khan, Bushra Bibi

The NAB prosecutor said that the NCA transferred the first installment to the liability account of the private housing scheme on November 29. The then-prime minister (Imran Khan) secured a cursory approval from the cabinet on December 2, 2019, to keep the agreement confidential. The cabinet approval was obtained only after the first installment had already been transferred to the account. 

During the arguments, Amjad Pervez argued that if a public officeholder receives any funds or donations, they were considered the property of the state of Pakistan. However, in this case, the confiscated funds were sent to the liability account of a private housing society, violating Section 5 (Clause T) of the NAB Ordinance. 

Last year on December 1, 2023, the NAB filed the reference against Khan and Bushra Bibi, among others, in the high-profile 190-million-pound case. The NAB had lodged a reference in Islamabad’s accountability court, pinpointing Imran Khan’s alleged involvement in a 190-million-pound scam.