Transparency International asks UK govt to probe Sharif’s properties; not to give him shelter

London, July 8: Former Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who was given 10 years of jail by an accountability court in his country in connection with corruption, faced more problem as the UK Chapter of Transparency International (TI) asked the UK government to probe Sharif's assets in London and not to provide him and his family with a safe haven, reports said.

The UK chapter of TI, a global watchdog against corruption, said in a press release that if Sharif's four properties were found to be brought with corrupt money, then they should be seized. It also sought the UK law enforcement to probe any further assets that the Sharifs have in the UK.

Citing Sharif's current stay in London where he has gone to see his ailing wife Kulsoom, the press release said the former Pakistani premier has been regularly visiting the UK during his trial.

"The UK government has consistently said it aims to crack down on the laundering of corrupt funds through the UK, although recent media reports suggest that the authorities failed to properly assist Pakistani counterparts during this investigation," it was quoted as saying.

Rachel Davies Teka, head of Advocacy at Transparency International UK said by conducting a proper investigation into the London-based assets in Sharif's conviction, the UK government would show how much serious it is on cracking down on corruption on its soil. Teka said it is not just the Russian oligarchs who are associated with money laundering and every point of origin of such a menace should be targeted.

The TI also sought that the UK government should not allow Sharif and his family to take shelter in its territory.

Sharif's daughter Maryam, who was set to contest in the July 25 elections in Pakistan, was also slapped with a sentence of seven years in connection to the Avenfield corruption case pertaining to the ownership of four flats in the posh Avenfield House in London.