Is Nawaz Sharif guilty of laundering $4.9 billion to India?

Even as Pakistan’s top anti-corruption body has ordered a probe against the country’s former prime minister Nawaz Sharif for his alleged involvement in money laundering, the World Bank has come out and denied reports as “incorrect”.

According to a Hindustan Times report, Pakistan’s National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Tuesday ordered a probe against Sharif and others after reports of his involvement in the money laundering emerged in the media.

The World Bank, however, has denied as “incorrect” media reports in Pakistan that Sharif allegedly laundered $4.9 billion to India.

“In the past day, there have been media reports citing the World Bank’s Remittances and Migration Report of 2016. These media reports were incorrect,” the World Bank said in a statement.

World Bank reacts

According to the statement, the World Bank’s Remittances and Migration Report is an effort by the World Bank to estimate migration and remittances numbers across the world.

“The report does not include any mention of money laundering nor does it name any individuals,” said the World Bank, which was issued after media reports cited its annual report for allegations that Sharif laundered $4.9 billion from Pakistan to India.

According to the news report, the World Bank also referred to a statement by the State Bank of Pakistan, which rejects estimates of $4.9 billion in remittances from Pakistan to India on September 21, 2016, and provides an explanation of the methodology used in the World Bank report and the official remittances numbers.

Sharif’s party

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Defense Minister Khurram Dastgir on Wednesday slammed the actions of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) after the corruption watchdog initiated a “false” probe against Nawaz Sharif.

A report in The Express Tribune said that speaking on the floor of the National Assembly, Dastgir questioned NAB’s actions and said that it is clear they were targeting Nawaz. Dastgir demanded a probe against NAB’s internal workings and processes of determining investigations such as this one.

According to another report in the same newspaper, the Supreme Court has ordered the accountability court hearing the corruption references against the Sharif family to conclude its proceedings by June 9.