What Is £190m Al-Qadir Trust Case In Which Imran Khan, His Wife Bushra Are Convicted?
Last Updated:
Imran Khan’s legal troubles continue to rise as he was convicted in the high-profile Al-Qadir Trust case along with his wife Bushra Bibi in Pakistan.
Imran Khan sentenced to 14 years in jail (AP File Image)
Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi were convicted by an accountability court in Rawalpindi in the high-profile Al-Qadir Trust case.
While Imran Khan was sentenced to 14 years in jail, Bibi was awarded 7 years imprisonment in the case.
What Is The Al-Qadir Trust Case Or £190 Million Scam Case?
The case revolves around the allegations that Khan and some others in 2019 misappropriated Rs50 billion (equivalent to £190 million at the time) sent by Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) to the then government in Pakistan where Imran Khan was the prime minister.
The funds pertain to assets belonging to a property tycoon which was seized by the NCA during the Imran Khan government’s tenure. The British crime agency had then said that the amount was to be transferred to the Pakistani government as part of a settlement with the property tycoon. The agency had clarified that it was a civil matter and did not constitute a finding of guilt.
However, Pakistan’s National Accountability Bureau (NAB) said in December 2023, that a settlement with the NCA was approved by Imran Khan on December 3, 2019, without disclosure of details of the confidential agreement.
Although it was initially decided that the money would be submitted to the Supreme Court on behalf of the businessman, the Al-Qadir Trust was established a few weeks later. This move allegedly followed an agreement with the property tycoon, purportedly designed to provide legal cover for the black money received from the NCA.
Several PTI leaders, including Zulfi Bukhari, Babar Awan, and then-first lady Bushra and her close associate Farhat Shehzadi were nominated as the trust members.
Corruption Allegations Against Imran Khan
The NAB accused Bukhari, Imran Khan’s close aide, of accepting 458 kanals of land a few months after the cabinet approved the settlement. The land was later transferred to the trust which is now registered in the name of Imran Khan, Bushra and Farah after Bukhari and Awan dropped out.
Khan was arrested from the Islamabad High Court on May 9, 2023, after the authorities started an investigation into the matter.
The arrest triggered nationwide violent protests by the PTI supporters. Khan was later granted bail on the High Court’s order a few days later. The Supreme Court of the country also termed his arrest from the High Court premises “illegal”.
The year-long trial featured testimony from key witnesses, including former cabinet members Pervez Khattak and Zubaida Jalal, ex-principal secretary Azam Khan, and the chief financial officer of Al-Qadir University. Khattak revealed that then-accountability adviser Mirza Shahzad Akbar had presented a sealed document to the cabinet, describing it as an agreement between the Pakistani government and the NCA for refunding crime proceeds.
Azam Khan corroborated Akbar’s role in bringing the sealed document, while Jalal testified that cabinet members were unaware of the transfer of “proceeds of crime” to the property tycoon.
During the trial, six co-accused, including Zulfi Bukhari, Farah Gogi, Mirza Shahzad Akbar, and Zia-ul-Mustafa Nasim, were declared absconders, leading the court to freeze their assets and bank accounts. Imran Khan submitted a list of 16 witnesses to the court, but his request to summon them was denied.
The case also saw multiple judicial changes, with four judges—Judge Muhammad Bashir, Judge Nasir Javed Rana, Judge Muhammad Ali Warraich, and Judge Rana again—presiding over the proceedings.
- Location :
Rawalpindi, Pakistan
