Controversy over Broadsheet scandal echoes in Senate.

ISLAMABAD -- The controversy over UK-based asset recovery firm Broadsheet LLC echoed in the Senate on Monday, with Adviser to the Prime Minister on Accountability Shahzad Akbar chiding the PPP for making $1.5 million payment to a wrong company and the PML-N for keeping the August 2016 decision of the award in the Broadsheet case a secret.

Speaking in the Senate, Mr Akbar said the reason for the secrecy was obvious as Broadsheet had been paid $20.5m for the information the company had gathered about the Sharif family's ill-gotten assets, including the Avenfield property.

He said all the proceedings of the arbitration over Broadsheet's claim had been held during the last two governments of PPP and PML-N.

He said the arbitrator in London held the government of Pakistan guilty of making a deal with former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in December 2000 and allowing him to go into self-exile and live in Saroor Palace in Saudi Arabia.

PPP slammed for paying $1.5m to a wrong firm and PML-N for keeping a decision secret

Quoting from the judgement, Mr Akbar said that the UK-based company suffered the loss to its honest earning as a result of the deal.

He said that quantum decision had two parts in which arbitrator had given the details of the liability. In the first part, he said, it fixed $100m (Rs16 billion) as 20 per cent share of the Broadsheet firm for recovering assets of Schon Group worth $48,760; Lakhani, $25,000; Fouzi Kazmi, $85,600; retired Gen Zahid Ali Akbar, $381,600; (Aftab) Sherpao, $210,000; and Ansari assets: $180,000, $158,000.

The second part of liability award, out of the total $21.5m, was fixed at $1.5m for tracing Avenfield properties of the Sharif family, Mr Akbar said. He said another $19m liability was fixed for the Sharif family's other assets. The total liability was $21. 5m and the government had to pay the remaining amount out of a total of $29m in the form of interest due to the pendency of the matter. 'We have to pay $20.5m on account of assets of the Sharif family out of the total $21. 5m liability.'

He said the PTI government made this payment on Dec 31, 2020, because no other forum for appeal had been left and $5,000 per day had been fixed as penalty for any delay in the payment.

The adviser further said the arbitrator in the judgement said that it had conducted a forensic study of the JIT report and the Sharif family's ill-gotten money had been estimated to be worth $820m. The arbitrator did not fix the liability on...

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