Imran Khan, Bushra Bibi benefited from UK NCA £190m deal: Spotlight on Corruption

UK’s anti-corruption NGO, Spotlight on Corruption, has alleged that former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, personally benefited from a £190 million dirty money deal between the UK National Crime Agency (NCA) and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government.

Susan Hawley, the Executive Director of the organization, criticized the NCA for entering into a dubious deal with Khan’s government, stating that it demonstrated a lack of judgment and transparency.

Hawley claimed that the £190 million deal was the outcome of corrupt dealings between the UK NCA and the Pakistani government. The agreement was reportedly negotiated between the NCA’s international anti-corruption unit and Shahzad Akbar, the former accountability minister of the PTI government, who was authorized by Khan to finalize the deal with UK authorities.

In an interview with Geo News, Susan Hawley expressed her disappointment with the NCA’s secret settlement with the Pakistani business tycoon, highlighting the agency’s lack of judgment and transparency. She suggested that the settlement, which was initially touted as evidence of the NCA’s success in combating international corruption, now appeared to be the result of corrupt practices. Hawley alleged that the deal was brokered by the Pakistani government at the time and seemingly benefited Khan and his wife personally.

According to Hawley, the settlement allowed the tycoon to declare innocence and evade accountability within Pakistan, granting him near-impunity. She lamented that the people of Pakistan were the ones suffering from this ordeal, while the UK continued to be a haven for corrupt elites from Pakistan and other countries without facing consequences.

The issue of the £190 million resurfaced as Imran Khan was recently arrested on corruption charges related to the Al-Qadir Trust/UK NCA case. His arrest sparked violence and subsequent events that have shaken the PTI party.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has questioned both Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, regarding the same case. The inquiry poses a threat to Khan’s political career in parliament.

The inquiry pertains to an alleged settlement between the PTI government and the business tycoon, which resulted in a loss of £190 million to the national exchequer. Accusations suggest that Khan and his wife personally benefited when the NCA transferred Rs50 billion (£190 million at that time) to the Pakistani government as part of the deal with the tycoon.

It is claimed that Imran Khan and his wife received 458 kanals of land in Sohawa from the tycoon to establish Al Qadir University. During the PTI government’s tenure, the UK’s National Crime Agency seized the tycoon’s assets worth £190 million.

The NCA stated that the assets would be transferred to the government of Pakistan and that the settlement with the tycoon was a civil matter and did not imply a finding of guilt.

Following the approval of the settlement by Prime Minister Khan’s cabinet on December 3, 2019, without disclosing the details of the confidential agreement, the money was intended to be submitted to the Supreme Court on behalf of the tycoon instead of the State Bank of Pakistan.

Subsequently, Al-Qadir Trust was established in Islamabad a few weeks after the agreement was brokered and approved by the Khan government. PTI leaders Zulfi Bukhari, Babar Awan, Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi, and her close friend Farah Khan were appointed as members of the trust.

Shortly after the deal’s approval, the tycoon transferred 458 kanals of land to Bukhari, a close aide of Imran Khan, who later transferred it to the trust. Bukhari and Awan subsequently opted out as trustees, and the trust is now registered in the names of Khan, Bushra Bibi, and Farah Gogi.

Initially, NAB officials were investigating the alleged abuse of power in the process of recovering “dirty money” received from the UK crime agency. However, following the emergence of undeniable evidence in the case, the inquiry against Imran Khan, Bushra Bibi, Barrister Shahzad Akbar, and others was converted into an investigation.

The UK NCA has stated that the £190 million was given to the state of Pakistan and not to any PTI government or individual.