LAHORE: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has ordered the immediate sale of properties belonging to former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and has issued a letter to the concerned deputy commissioners in this regard, Geo News reported Tuesday.
In the letter, Director-General of NAB’s Lahore office, Shahzad Saleem, stated that for the first time in the country’s history, the decision to recover fines from a former prime minister has been implemented.
The country’s accountability watchdog maintained that it had initiated proceedings to recover an £8 million fine — equivalent to Rs1.85 billion — from Nawaz in the Avenfield apartments case. Aside from the imposition of fines, in July 2018, an accountability court had sentenced Nawaz to ten years of imprisonment.
In the letter, the deputy commissioners have been apprised of all the details of Nawaz Sharif’s saleable properties, including bungalows situated at Lahore’s Upper Mall Road and agricultural lands in Sheikhupura and other areas.
The proceeds from the sale of properties would be used for the development of the country, the letter said, adding that if the full amount of the fine is not recovered, a search for further assets of the convict will be carried out.