What is Al Qadir Trust case? Why Imran arrested?

PTI chief Imran Khan was arrested outside the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday while attending the hearings of two cases.

Following that, Islamabad Police issued a statement quoting Inspector General (IG) Akbar Nasir Khan as saying that Imran was arrested in connection with the Al Qadir Trust case, in which the PTI chief and his wife allegedly obtained billions of rupees and land worth hundreds of kanals from a real estate firm in exchange for legalising Rs50 billion that was identified and returned to the country by the UK during the previous PTI government.

But what exactly is the Al Qadir Trust case, and why is the former prime minister involved in it?

Actual Origin

It all started five years ago when the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA) agreed to a £190 million settlement with the family of property tycoon Malik Riaz.

According to the NCA statement, the settlement included a UK property — 1 Hyde Park Place, London, W2 2LH — valued at approximately £50 million, and all of the funds landed in Malik Riaz’s frozen accounts.

The first evidence of the NCA’s investigation into Riaz’s property and assets in the UK surfaced in December 2018, shortly after the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) took power. “The NCA has been granted freezing orders on eight bank accounts containing a total of more than £100 million, which is suspected to have derived from bribery and corruption in an overseas nation,” the crime agency stated in a press release dated August 14, 2019. Following a hearing in December 2018, approximately £20 million held by a linked individual was frozen.”

Earlier that year, the Supreme Court of Pakistan accepted Riaz’s offer of Rs460 billion in settlement dues from his real estate firm, Bahria Town Ltd, after it was discovered to have illegally acquired thousands of acres of land on Karachi’s outskirts in district Malir.

Malik Riaz tweeted hours after the NCA decision that the recovered amount would be used to offset the Rs460 billion fine.

Following that, the funds were transferred to the Supreme Court’s accounts rather than the Government of Pakistan’s. When the NCA announced its decision on December 3, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Accountability Mirza Shahzad Akbar stated that the money would be transferred directly to the state.

When questioned later about the ambiguity, SAPM Akbar responded, “Is the Supreme Court not part of the government?” So, if the money is directed to the Supreme Court, it is directed to the state.”

The SAPM had also refused to answer questions about the money’s origins and how it came to be stashed abroad, citing confidentiality agreements between the parties involved in the case, including the UK. “We have signed a confidentiality agreement with the UK government, so we cannot discuss the specifics of the case,” he said at a press conference.

Imran’s case

In June 2022, the matter resurfaced following an alleged audio leak of a telephone conversation between Malik Riaz and his daughter, in which the two could be heard discussing the alleged demands of Farah Khan aka Gogi — a friend of Imran Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi — against some alleged favours from Imran Khan’s previous government. The woman, who is thought to be Riaz’s daughter, told her father that Farah had told her that the (former) first lady had asked her not to accept a three-karat diamond ring and instead demanded a five-karat diamond ring.

Following that, Riaz denied any involvement in political matters and claimed in a tweet that the leaked audio clip attributed to him and his daughter was “fabricated.”

On June 14, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah accused Imran and his wife of accepting Rs5 billion and hundreds of kanals of land in exchange for defending the real estate firm in a money laundering case.

Sanaullah told a press conference in Islamabad that Bahria Town had “illegally transferred” Rs50 billion to a Pakistani national in the United Kingdom. He claimed that the transfer was discovered by the UK’s National Crime Agency, which then informed the then-PTI government of the crime.

Sanaullah claimed that Imran, the prime minister at the time, had tasked Shehzad Akbar, the ex-PM’s accountability adviser, with resolving the issue. According to the interior minister, Akbar “settled” the entire case, while the Rs50 billion — which was state property and belonged to the national treasury — was adjusted against Bahria Town’s liability.

The federal cabinet formed a committee the next day to investigate Imran and his wife Bushra’s alleged involvement in the case.

According to Sanaullah, Bahria Town donated hundreds of acres of land to Al-Qadir Trust, with the agreement signed by the real estate developer’s donors as well as Bushra Khan, the wife of former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

He stated that the non-profit organisation was run by Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi. Another 240 kanals were given to “Farah Shehzadi” by the minister.

NAB Gets in

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has summoned real estate tycoon Malik Riaz and close aides to PTI Chairman Imran Khan on December 1 in an apparent attempt to tighten the noose around them.

“Call-up notice to the persons acquainted with facts of the case under section 19 of the National Accountability Ordinance-1999, inquiry against holders of public office and others qua misuse of authority, financial gains and criminal breach of trust in recovery of crime proceeds received from the UK and illegal sealing of its record,” the NAB notice had said.

According to the investigation into allegations of abuse of authority, financial gain, and criminal breach of trust, Ali Riaz Malik and others entered into an out-of-court settlement agreement with Britain’s National Crime Agency for the repatriation of funds to the government of Pakistan.

“In addition, M/s Bahria Town donated land for Al Qadir Trust University measuring 458 acres, four marlas, and 58 square feet in Mauza Barkala, Tehsil Sohawa, District Jhelum.” As a result, you are in possession of any information or evidence relating to the commission of the aforementioned offence(s),” the notice continued. The trust’s trustees include Imran Khan’s wife, according to unconfirmed reports.

The NAB had previously served notices on 21 members of former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s cabinet. Ghulam Sarwar Khan, Murad Saeed, Pervez Khattak, Shafqat Mahmood, Shireen Mazari, Ali Haider Zaidi, Hammad Azhar, and Zulfi Bukhari were among them.

The NAB summoned Bukhari on November 29, but he did not appear before the accountability watchdog until January 10, after missing several hearings.

Imran was apprehended by Rangers personnel on Tuesday while appearing before the IHC in an unrelated case. Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah stated in a press conference hours after the arrest that Imran was arrested by officials of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) specifically in the Al-Qadir Trust case, adding that there were “dozens” of other cases with corruption investigations against the former premier.

The interior minister stated that the NAB had served notices on the PTI chief regarding the corruption cases against him and had asked him to appear and cooperate with the investigation. He went on to say that if Imran had become involved, there was no need for extensive investigations because there was documentary proof and evidence in the cases.

“It was necessary for him to present himself and respond, but he did not.” He challenged those notices in the high court, and the high court ultimately said that the [legal] process cannot be stopped and that he should become a part of the investigation and submit his response, but he did not feel it was appropriate to become a part of the investigation. As a result, the NAB was forced to carry out his arrest.”

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