ISLAMABAD - The National Accountability Bureau has decided to file a supplementary reference against the Sharif family in the Flagship Investment corruption reference next week, The Nation has learnt.

The NAB investigation team returned to Islamabad on Saturday evening after ‘collecting verified data’ of around 10 companies of the Sharif family in the UK in Flagship Investment corruption reference.

A three-member NAB team headed by Director General Operations Zahir Shah had been to London this month to investigate the Flagship Investment reference and it gathered the certified data of 10 companies of the Sharif family from the National Crime Agency UK and the Land Registry Office.

A senior NAB official confirmed to The Nation that the bureau’s investigation teams including representatives of the prosecution wing were working on the supplementary reference against Sharif family under the supervision of NAB Director General Rawalpindi Nasir Iqbal. They said the teams will also be present today (Sunday) at a meeting and two investigators, who have returned from the UK, will also attend the huddle and brief other team members about the new evidence against the Sharif family. The NAB Rawalpindi will file the supplementary reference in the Islamabad Accountability Court probably on Tuesday, the official said.  

Sources said that Shah and the other two NAB  team members, Director Muhammad Rizwan and  Investigation Officer Muhammad Kamran have reached back. They said that the NAB team also met with officials of the National Crime Agency UK and Land Registrar Office during the visit and these departments shared with the probe team the documents of the Sharif family’s 10 companies including Flagship Investment, Harstone Properties Limited, Que Holding Limited, Kuiniteaten Plus Limited, Flagship Securities, Flagship Development Limited and Hiltron International Limited. The NAB investigation team was also in contact with Pakistan High Commission in the UK during the visit.

Ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his two sons, Hussain and Hassan, have been nominated as accused in the Flagship reference that deals with the ownership of 16 offshore companies.

The NAB Lahore has also filed a supplementary reference against the Sharif family in Avenfield reference. A three-member NAB Lahore team also visited the UK in December and filed the supplementary reference on the basis of documents which was shared by UK authorities with the NAB. 

Earlier, the NAB had filed four corruption references against the Sharif family in Rawalpindi/Islamabad Accountability Courts in the light of Supreme Court judgment in the Panama Papers case.

Meanwhile, NAB Chairman Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal has said that elimination of corruption was the top priority of the anti-graft body.  He said that the NAB was not taking revenge from any province, party or individual and has geared up to recover looted money from corrupt and bring them to justice.

He directed all NAB officials to carry out complaint verification, inquiries and investigations within 10 months and file corruption references in respective courts after collecting solid and incriminating evidence along with relevant details of each case. “Now onwards, the NAB would take care of self-respect of everyone as the law prohibits it from misusing its laws and powers. The whole nation pins high hopes on the NAB for the elimination of corruption. NAB officers must adhere themselves to the law of the land as our affiliation is only with the country,” the NAB chief said.