ISLAMABAD: A Rawalpindi banking judge has ordered that the property owned by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani’s former media coordinator Khurram Rasool Rasool in Islamabad be auctioned within a month.
The order was passed when the banking court released the verdict in the bank loan case.
The Supreme Court of Pakistan had earlier question why a banking court was taking action when the case was one of forgery and fraud. Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) officials told the court that the transactions had been made through a private bank, which is why the banking court had interceded.
Rasool was presented before the Supreme Court earlier today by the FIA.
Rasool had surrendered before the FIA late Thursday night in a corruption reference filed in 2009 after he defaulted on a bank loan. The Supreme Court had ordered the FIA to arrest him by January 27 (today).
According to FTNews, Rasool told the court that he had surrendered himself to the FIA and that he and his family was being threatened by the petitioner, Sameer Hussain. He added that he was receiving death threats via SMS.
The court questioned Rasool as to why he did not surrender before as he was being summoned since the past 11 months. He said that he was “hiding” because of the threats.
Hussain had alleged that Rasool defrauded the complainant of Rs630 million by promising him a quota for LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) and licence for oil supplies to Nato forces stationed in Afghanistan.
On April 28, 2011, the trial court declared Rasool a proclaimed offender for his absence from proceedings.
Rasool informed that court that he also runs businesses and owns factories outside the country and he did not serve as the PM’s media coordinator during the time he was handling his business.
He explained to the court that he did not default on the loan, but the payment was delayed due to a delay in the shipment.
Rasool had obtained a loan of Rs70 million from the bank using fake documents.
2:27 AM
Posted in: NATIONAL
