UK Paper Alleges Sharifs Might Have Stolen Foreign Aid Sent For Earthquake Victims

In a scathing story earlier today, UK based newspaper, Daily Mail speculated that Sharifs might have stolen foreign aid sent through the Department for International Development (DFID) – UK’s premier institution for the disbursement of foreign aid.

DFID had lavished Shehbaz Sharif’s government with million of pounds during his 10 years as the Chief Minister of Punjab. A huge amount of this money, alleges the newspaper was embezzled by the Sharif family.

Shehbaz Sharif’s Son-in-Law Stole £1 Million

Scrutiny of legal documents by the newspaper revealed that DFID had disbursed £54 million for rehabilitation activities aimed for the uplift of earthquake victims.

Read: “Judge Arshad Malik Was Blackmailed To Convict Nawaz Sharif,” Claims Maryam Nawaz

The newspaper speculated that Shehbaz’s son-in-law embezzled about £1 million from this fund.

UK Banks Were Involved in Money Laundering

The paper further alleged that the stolen funds were laundered into Birmingham and then transferred to the bank accounts of the Sharif family by various UK based branches of such international banks as
Barclays and HSBC.

Aftab Mehmood Gives a Damning Testimony

Aftab Mehmood, a self-confessed money launderer based in Birmingham lies at the heart of this scandal.

It was through his firm that the money was allegedly laundered into UK and later transferred to the bank accounts of the Sharif family members.

In his testimony, Mehmood shared that even though his accounts were being audited by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs every quarter, they were unable to find irregularities in his transactions.

A Joint Inquiry by British & Pakistani Authorities is Underway

In the same article, Daily Mail has also reported that a joint investigation between Britain’s National Crime Agency and Pakistani authorities was currently underway to investigate the scandal.

As per the report, British Home Secretary Sajid Javid is toying with the idea of extraditing members of the Sharif family who are currently seeking refuge in UK.

That the Sharifs might have stolen foreign aid received for quake victims is being investigated, however, on its part, DFID has denied allegations of embezzlement of its funds.