Chaudhry Sugar Mills (CSM) Case: Court Extends Physical Remand Of Maryam

An accountability court on Wednesday extended physical remand of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Maryam Nawaz and her cousin Yousaf Abbas in Chaudhry Sugar Mills (CSM) case for another seven days

LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 18th Sep, 2019 ):An accountability court on Wednesday extended physical remand of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Maryam Nawaz and her cousin Yousaf Abbas in Chaudhry Sugar Mills (CSM) case for another seven days.

Accountability Court Judge Ameer Muhammad Khan conducted the proceedings wherein Maryam Nawaz and Yousaf Abbas were produced.

At the outset of the proceedings, the National Accountability Bureau's (NAB) investigation officer submitted a progress report and pleaded with the court for extending physical remand of the accused for another 15 days. He submitted that further investigations were required.

He submitted that the Chaudhry Sugar Mills had been registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan since 1992 and it was established at a cost of Rs700 million whereas Rs400 million was taken as loan from bank.

He submitted the Sharif family also took loan from various other sources for establishing the mills. They took loan of Rs30 million and Rs10 million from EFF Enterprise and Punjab Carpets, respectively.

He submitted that the Sharif family's offshore companies also gave a US $15 million loan to the mills and the amount was transferred from abroad in the name of the mills.

He submitted that Maryam Nawaz's income and tax record was being collected besides nine offshore companies of the Sharif family.

The officer submitted that further investigations were required into the matter as Maryam Nawaz and Yousaf Abbas did not explain about amounts received from abroad during the investigations so far.

He submitted that further investigations were required about Rs230 million transferred into accounts of Yousaf Abbas and Abdul Aziz.

He submitted that Rs900 million in cash were deposited in two accounts of Chaudhry Sugar Mills and still the name of the depositor was not revealed. It had been said that the amount was deposited by an employee but the record of the depositor had not been given, he added.

At this stage, defence counsel Advocate Amjad Pervaiz opposed the further physical remand's request and submitted that the investigation report was against facts. He submitted that Mian Sharif owned all properties in 1992 whereas he transferred properties to his children during 1992-1999 and afterwards the family went abroad.

Maryam Nawaz also rejected the NAB report and submitted that the NAB team did not ask a single question about the corruption during the investigations.

Subsequently, the court, after hearing arguments of the parties, extended physical remand of Maryam Nawaz and Yousaf Abbas for another seven days and directed for producing them on September 25.

Meanwhile strict security arrangements were made as policemen were positioned inside and outside the court besides officials of the anti-right force.

It is pertinent to mention that NAB had arrested Maryam Nawaz and Yousaf Abbas on August 8.