BB & Zardari’s innocence in Swiss Courts — by Sikandar Mehdi
Musharraf has himself spoken that no case was proven against them.
Musharraf has spoken once again. In his one of the recent interviews he has said plainly that there was no case proven against Benazir & Zardari. What Pervez Musharraf has uttered reinforces what we have said for long. I am glad he is cleansing his conscience. Slap in your face all the media, judiciary, Nawaz Sharif and Tonga Party walas. Shame on you all for trying people in the courts other than Pakistan and see what you got. Your heart goes out to a convicted terrorist Afia Siddiqui for her trial in foreign courts but what about Benazir?
The woman who brought laurels for Pakistan and tried to bring moderation to this medieval feudal thinking society, gave poor people voice in the corridors of power was treated by dragging her in the foreign courts. Look where it got you, not even an iota has been proven against her and her spouse. How long will you try PPP and its leaders? They are in courts when they are in opposition and they are in courts even when they are in government. When will this drama end. PPP is the real representative party of poor people but establishment and people with money industrialist and business man like to stand with the man who serves their purpose very well and that is Nawaz who by the grace of God has an IQ of a termite.
Slap on your ugliness of judiciary. Mr. Iftikhar Chaudhry you wanted the government to write letter to Swiss government I hope you got the reply. What will you do now? The main dictator who was responsible for trying BB & Zardari has openly spoken of their innocence.
Media will have to find something other than this NRO issue to feed on. Taliban Union of Journalist will have to work hard to throw more mud on the PPP. I remember few lines of old English song by Bob Marley “What Are You Gonna do when they come for You – Bad Boys – Bad Boys
BIRMINGHAM: Former military ruler Pervez Musharraf has said that graft cases against slain PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto and her spouse Asif Zardari in Switzerland’s courts were not proven.
In an exclusive interview with Daily Express, Musharraf revealed that a letter was also written to Swiss authorities during his regime showing displeasure at the lengthy trial.
He said the rounds of negotiations he held with Benazir Bhutto were always one-on-one.
He said people on TV talk shows make noises about NRO and talk incessantly about the deal even though they know nothing about the facts.
Replying to a question, he said his meetings with Benazir Bhutto in Abu Dhabi used to span three to four hours, and they were always one-on-one. Rehman Malik accompanied the PPP leader but did not participate in the negotiations.
He recalled that when in the first round of talks Benazir asked for abolition of
58-2 (b) “I refused point blank”. He said when talking about the cases instituted against her during Nawaz Sharif government, Benazir used to become misty-eyed.
The ex-president said that the cases against Benazir Bhutto and Asif Zardari were neither proved in Swiss courts nor in Pakistan’s, while both were acquitted in many cases.
He said he had written to the Swiss courts that their performance was even worse than Pakistani courts as they failed to decide the cases, “but the fact of the matter is that there was nothing in those cases”.
Precisely for this reason, Musharraf continued, he presented details of his talks with Benazir before his political friends, including Chaudhry Shujaat and Pervaiz Elahi. Among the points he presented included ending of cases against Benazir Bhutto and her spouse and setting aside the bar on becoming prime minister a third time.
The Chaudhry brothers, he said, reacted by saying that the cases be dropped but the bar on third-time premiership should stay or the Q league would lose elections.
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Rehman Malik has said there used be a concluding session on both sides after the meetings between Benazir and Musharraf and follow-ups by the nominees of General Musharf “and me in Dubai and London based on the minutes of the meetings drafted by Benazir and myself”.
All discussions were (focused) on transition to democracy.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 4th, 2010.
Shaheen Sehbai when he was in Exile in USA [HE IS STILL IN EXILE IN USA], he used to publish this in his ONLINE MAGAZINE I.E. SOUTH ASIA TRIBUNE:
“QUOTE”
On the contrary, the party which President Zardari considered to be his most dependable ally, the MQM of Altaf Hussain, has gone many steps forward to seek his removal from the top office. Almost everyone I met and talked to was surprised at the leap Altaf Hussain had taken from just opposing or abstaining from voting on the NRO to demanding the resignation of Zardari. It was like the last straw on the heavily loaded camel’s back and Zardari was stunned, those around him reported. But he can hit back with some radical moves — sack his cronies, repeal the 17th Amendment in a day or two, give an extension to the Army chief, bring back angry PPP stalwarts after due apologies and go before the courts instead of seeking shelter behind the NRO.
When NRO erupted on the face of Mr Zardari, another meeting between the Army Chief and the PM was essential on Monday night so that the right message was conveyed. And it was. Then we saw the surrender. The Zardari era, the argument goes, consists of broken promises, colossal mistakes in assessing the mood of the people, taking decisions with arrogance, taking on the establishment and institutions which were needed to survive, taking gigantic U-turns when under pressure and smiling about them, claiming unabashedly as if it was a considered policy (like the restoration of judges, sacking and restoration of the Punjab government of PML-N, surrender on the Kerry Lugar Bill and eventually running away from the NRO). REFRENCES: Has a countdown begun in Islamabad? By Shaheen Sehbai Saturday, November 07, 2009 The contours of a changed, unwritten script Situationer By Shaheen Sehbai Wednesday, November 04, 2009
SOME YEARS BACK SAME SHAHEEN SEHBAI ON THE ACCOUNTABILITY OF BENAZIR BHUTTO & ASIF ALI ZARDARI IN HIS AMERICAN BASED WEB BASED MAGAZINE SOUTH ASIA TRIBUNE
“QUOTE”
Vol-2, Jul 27- Aug 02, 2002 ISSN:1684-0275
ISLAMABAD: General Pervez Musharraf’s law ministry is rushing through a judicial treaty with the Sheikhs of UAE to enable the military government put handcuff on Pakistanis living in the Gulf, outside their jurisidiction at the moment. The diplomatic name of the treaty is “Serving of Judicial and Extra Judicial Documents, Taking of Evidence and the Recognition and Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters”. Simply speaking any Pakistani living in UAE, the most prominent being PPP Chairperson Benazir Bhutto, would come under Islamabad’s legal purview as “enforcement of judgments” is also part of the treaty. A draft text has been rushed to the Cabinet and everybody is obediently saying yes. Little does anyone realize that the same treaty would take away the protection of Dubai or Abu Dhabi, if any of them was to flee the country after whatever wrong done in this government now.
Most of the NRO beneficiaries, whose corruption and criminal cases would re-open on Nov 28, will not be able to get pre-arrest bails as their offences under the NAB Ordinance are non-bailable, NAB officials told The News. NAB Prosecutor General Danishwar Malik, when contacted, confirmed to The News that all offences under the NAB Ordinance were non-bailable. He said trial courts (accountability courts) had no authority under the law to entertain bail applications of any NAB accused. It was never done in the past either, he said. About the non-bailability of offences under the NAB Ordinance, its Section 9(b) reads: “All offences under this ordinance shall be non-bailable and, notwithstanding anything contained in Sections 1, 426, 491, 497, 498 and 561A or any other provision of the code, or any other law for the time being in force no court shall have jurisdiction to grant bail to any person accused of any offence under this ordinance.” REFERENCE: Beneficiaries of NRO cannot get bail: NAB By Ansar Abbasi Friday, November 13, 2009
The funniest thing in all that is that National Accountability Bureau and all the Ordinances thereing were invoked by General Pervez Musharraf after imposing Martial Law in Pakistan on 12 Oct 1999, even more funnier is a fact that a Supreme Court Bench of which present Chief Justice of Pakistan was a member, had declared that Martial Law of 1999 was valid. REFERENCE: Writing of history or triumph of amnesia? Islamabad diary by Ayaz Amir Dated Friday, August 07, 2009
As per 1973 Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan
“QUOTE”
PART I
6. (1) Any person who abrogates or attempts or conspires to abrogate, subverts or attempts or conspires to subvert the Constitution by use of force or show of force or by other unconstitutional means shall be guilty of high treason.
(2) Any person aiding or abetting the acts mentioned in clause (1) shall likewise be guilty of high treason.
(3) [Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament)] shall by law provide for the punishment of persons found guilty of high treason.
“UNQUOTE”
Definition of Accomplice: An accomplice is a person who actively participates in the commission of a crime, even though they take no part in the actual criminal offense.
VALIDITY OF MILITARY REGIME’S INVOKED NATIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY BUREAU/ORDINANCES.
“QUOTE”
Respect for civil and political rights deteriorated significantly in the year following the bloodless military coup, on October 12, 1999, that deposed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in Pakistan. General Pervez Musharraf’s administration began to address some longstanding justice issues-notably, through the adoption of Pakistan’s first federal juvenile justice law and the establishment of a commission on the status of women-but it also greatly augmented executive powers and curtailed the independence of the judiciary. It moved to neutralize political parties through the application of broadly defined laws governing terrorism, sedition, and public order, and through the establishment of a powerful extraconstitutional “accountability” bureau. Opposition party members were subjected to prolonged detention without charge; some were tortured in custody. Sectarian violence and attacks on religious minorities continued and, despite renewed attention to the issue, the government failed to provide meaningful recourse for women victims of domestic abuse and sexual violence.
Human Rights Developments
Early in the year, the military government moved to strip the judiciary of much of its power. On January 26, General Musharraf issued an order requiring all Supreme and High Court judges to take an oath binding them to uphold his proclamation of a national emergency and to adhere to the Provisional Constitution Order (PCO). Many, including the chief justice of the Supreme Court, refused to take the oath. A total of fifteen judges were removed. The PCO, which remained in effect at this writing, had been announced by Musharraf just days after the October coup. It suspended the constitution and legislative bodies and prohibited the Supreme and High Courts from making any decision against the chief executive.
On May 12, a reconstituted Supreme Court issued a verdict rejecting petitions challenging the coup’s legality. The court set a deadline of three years for the holding of national and provincial elections, but reserved authority to review the continuation of the Proclamation of Emergency, leaving the door open to future extensions of military rule.
Top officials of the deposed government were detained on the day of the coup; two of them, former Information Minister Mushahid Hussain and former Petroleum Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan continued to be held without charge as of this writing. Nawaz Sharif himself was tried and convicted of hijacking and terrorism-for refusing to allow General Musharraf’s plane to land in the hours leading up to the coup-
under the Anti-Terrorism Act, and sentenced to life imprisonment on April 6 following a trial marred by procedural abuses.
In December 1999 the military government amended the Anti-Terrorism Act to add hijacking and conspiracy to the list of offenses falling within the Anti-Terrorism Court’s jurisdiction. These offenses were then applied retroactively to Nawaz Sharif. Another amendment allowed the government to replace the judge originally assigned to hear the case, a Sharif appointee. In January, the new judge stepped down, publicly complaining of the presence of intelligence agents in his courtroom. In March, only days before the final arguments were to be presented in the trial, Sharif’s lawyer, Iqbal Raad, and two of his colleagues were assassinated in their office. Other members of the defense team charged that the government had failed to provide them protection despite repeated warnings that they were being threatened. A month after Sharif’s conviction by the Anti-Terrorism Court, he was shifted to Attock Fort-an army-occupied sixteenth century fortress west of Islamabad-to face trial on charges of concealing assets and evading taxes in connection with his acquisition of a helicopter. He was convicted on July 22, and sentenced to fourteen years in prison, with a fine of Rs. 20 million (U.S. $380,000).
The new government’s principal vehicle for detaining former officials and party leaders, however, was the National Accountability Ordinance, a law ostensibly created to bring corrupt officials to account. The ordinance confers sweeping powers of arrest, investigation, and prosecution in a single institution, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), and permits detainees to be held for up to ninety days without being brought before a court. The law was later amended to facilitate conviction by shifting the burden of proof during trial from the prosecution to the defense.
There were persistent reports of ill treatment in NAB custody, particularly in the case of high profile detainees who were held early in the year in Attock Fort. Persons convicted under the ordinance were prohibited from holding public office for a period of twenty-one years. An amendment to the Political Parties Act in August also barred anyone with a court conviction from holding party office. The combined effect of these acts, as they were applied, was to eliminate the existing leadership of the major political parties. While administration officials said that parties would be allowed to participate in future elections to the Senate and national and provincial assemblies, local government elections, scheduled to be held in December, were to be conducted on a non-party basis.
The Musharraf government also suppressed political activity by conducting raids on party offices, preventing political rallies from being held, and lodging criminal cases against rally organizers under laws governing sedition and the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Ordinance. The sedition law, Section 124-A of the Pakistan Penal Code, criminalizes speech that “brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards, the Central or Provincial Government established by law.” Section 16 of the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance prohibits speech that “causes or is likely to cause fear or alarm to the public” or any section thereof, or which “furthers or is likely to further any activity prejudicial to public safety or the maintenance of public order.”
Rana Sanaullah Khan, a member of the suspended Punjab provincial assembly from Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League (PML), was arrested in Faisalabad on November 28, 1999. The arrest came after he criticized the army at a meeting of former legislators and urged his colleagues to launch a protest movement against the military government. He was tortured while in custody, and criminal charges were registered against him under the sedition law and MPO . REFERENCE: Human Rights Developments
Pakistan
National Level: The Musharraf Government in 1999 created by Ordinance the NAB (National Accountability Bureau) and special accountability courts to try exclusively corruption cases. These Courts are part of the national judicial system and operate under the Chief Justices of the High Courts of Pakistan. For up-to-date statistics on the number and type of cases files, convicted and acquitted, please refer to the Appendix. The NAB was created in part to deal with as much as $4 billion (PKR 208 billion) that was estimated to be owed to the country’s banks (all of which were state-owned at the time; several have since been privatized) by debtors, primarily from among the wealthy elite. The Musharraf Government stated that it would not target genuine business failures or small defaulters and does not appear to have done so. The NAB was given broad powers to prosecute corruption cases, and the accountability courts were expected to try such cases within 30 days. As originally promulgated, the ordinance prohibited courts from granting bail and gave the NAB chairman sole power to decide if and when to release detainees.
The ordinance also allowed those suspected by the State Bank of Pakistan of defaulting on government loans or of corrupt practices to be detained for 15 days without charge (renewable with judicial concurrence) and, prior to being charged, did not allow access to counsel. In accountability cases, there was a presumption of guilt, and conviction under the ordinance can result in 14 years’ imprisonment, fines, and confiscation of property. Originally, those convicted were set to disqualify from running for office or holding office for 10 years. In August 2000, the Government announced that persons with a court conviction would be barred from holding party office. This provision was applied during the general election to prevent certain candidates from entering the contest. REFERENCE: Special Corruption Courts in Asia
Shaheen Sehbai: Accountability of Benazir & Zardari.
http://chagataikhan.blogspot.com/2009/11/shaheen-sehbai-accountability-of.html
Shaheen Sehbai praises Asif Ali Zardari.
http://chagataikhan.blogspot.com/2009/11/shaheen-sehbai-praises-asif-ali-zardari.html
When NRO erupted on the face of Mr Zardari, another meeting between the Army Chief and the PM was essential on Monday night so that the right message was conveyed. And it was. Then we saw the surrender. The Zardari era, the argument goes, consists of broken promises, colossal mistakes in assessing the mood of the people, taking decisions with arrogance, taking on the establishment and institutions which were needed to survive, taking gigantic U-turns when under pressure and smiling about them, claiming unabashedly as if it was a considered policy (like the restoration of judges, sacking and restoration of the Punjab government of PML-N, surrender on the Kerry Lugar Bill and eventually running away from the NRO). REFRENCES: Has a countdown begun in Islamabad? By Shaheen Sehbai Saturday, November 07, 2009 The contours of a changed, unwritten script Situationer By Shaheen Sehbai Wednesday, November 04, 2009
SOME YEARS BACK SAME SHAHEEN SEHBAI ON ASIF ALI ZARDARI IN HIS AMERICAN BASED WEB BASED MAGAZINE SOUTH ASIA TRIBUNE!
“QUOTE”
Issue No 26, Jan 20-26, 2003 ISSN:1684-2075 satribune.com
Will You Please Let Asif Ali Zardari Go! Shaheen Sehbai
IT WAS August of 1996 when I was on a short visit to Islamabad as then I was based in Washington as correspondent for Daily ‘Dawn’. My friend and late hockey commentator Farooq Mazhar was then Editor of Islamabad’s English Daily ‘The News’. I had played some role in getting him the Editorship of the newspaper in early 1995 and so Farooq Mazhar felt obliged. During 1995 he had developed a special friendship with the then Prime Minister’s husband, Asif Ali Zardari, thanks to Cricket Commentator and columnist Omar Kureshi.
During and shortly before that period my relations with Asif Zardari were not very friendly as I had been writing in my usual way about Benazir’s government and Asif’s influence, which I called interference.
Farooq Mazhar hosted a grand dinner for me and also invited about 50 other common friends, among them senior journalists, senior politicians and officials. The dinner was a great success, drinks were flowing, food was in abundance and groups of like-minded people were discussing politics, and everything else, in a free and relaxed atmosphere.
Suddenly there was a big commotion. Everybody and the hosts seemed to be running in one direction and there emerged Asif Ali Zardari in the middle of a procession of aides, secretaries or application bearers. He shook hands with some, including our group and headed for the food table. For next hour or so he was surrounded by others. Then Farooq Mazhar brought him to our corner and wanted me and him to shake hands, discuss our differences and be friends again.
It was embarrassing as neither he nor I was prepared for this uncalled for mediation. Our group had senior journalists H.K. Burki, M. Ziauddin, Javed Siddiq, Amir Mateen and others. Among the politicians I remember Ghulam Mustufa Khar and Kabir Wasti. There were many others. The focus of every one turned to what Asif and myself were saying to each other. He was complaining about friends (me) who had dumped him and BB during their second government, which was still in tact. I was protesting at the way he had created a coterie of self seekers around him which had forced others to distance themselves. The discussion was not going in any positive direction.
It did not. I remember my final words to him were: “Asif when I return to Pakistan next time, I am sure you will be in the same jail where I had come to see you after you were arrested by Jam Sadiq Ali in 1990-91.” It was a prophecy which came true just a few weeks after I had returned to Washington. BB’s Government was dismissed in November and Asif was put in the Landhi jail. When I returned to Pakistan in June 1997 I found him in the same jail. He was in other jails when I came back in 1998, 2000, 2001 and until I left Pakistan in March 2002. He is still in jail.
My views about him had not changed much but over the years the feeling was getting strong that he had already suffered more than he deserved. Finally when General Musharraf shed all his pretences of being an honest, moral person and came down to naked pursuit of brute power, by hook or by crook, through a fraudulent referendum or a fixed election, Asif started becoming respectable for me.
If financial corruption was to be an integral part of Pakistan’s ruling classes, be it an elected government or a self-adulatory military regime, and if every one had to bend the rules and extend financial favors to friends and family, then there was no reason for Asif Ali Zardari to suffer a fate which no one else has, or will.
Now he stands out as the only politician who has refused to compromise with the Establishment for his freedom, although he could have done that given the level of petty bargaining which the Musharraf regime has been doing with every corrupt thief and robber. If Admiral Mansoor ul Haq can pay 7 million dollars and be a free man and keep the rest of the millions he made, Asif could have easily done a similar deal. Or if the small time crooks can be let off by paying a fraction of what they owe to the State, freedom should not have been a big deal for Asif to buy. And he admits he was offered the deal many times by the Musharraf regime but he refused.
On top of all this, when Musharraf struck the despicable deals with the PPP turncoats and lastly with the MQM, my faith in the last disciplined institution of the country, the Pakistan Army, was totally shaken. Now for me, the army was just another corrupt, power-hungry political party, ready to commit the same “crimes” which Asif Zardari or Nawaz Sharif had committed and for which General Musharraf had made them pay through their nose.
If for some petty financial corruption Nawaz and his entire family had to be exiled from the country or Asif had to be kept in jail for 7 long years, then similar punishment must be demanded for the present military junta as they have done nothing less. In fact as stories of their corruption and favoritism are now leaking, it appears these military men have been so reckless with the national exchequer they have to be given stiffer punishments, whenever that time comes.
So now my argument is that when all governments in Pakistan resort to corruption, with no exceptions, then what is the choice for the people. Since lack of morals and dishonesty is going to be a common factor, people will have to look for some additional “positives” to prefer one over the other. They have to chose from what they have. This additional “positives” could only be a government which people have voted in, instead of a government which has thrust itself with the barrel of the gun. There is some outside chance that people will vote out the corrupt, or less honest, in a ballot if they are given the option. The recent defeat slammed on Rawalpindi’s street boy Sheikh Rashid Ahmed could be an eye opener for all. People did seek their revenge and gave him the boot, just because he had joined the jackboots against their mandate.
The only chance for Pakistan then is to let democracy and an accountability process run its course through the ballot. Democracy is thus the last hope. Even in established democracies like the United States or India, politicians still thrive who perform outrageous acts like the Rs 100 million birthday bash of Uttar Pradesh’s Mayawati for which the State tax payers bore the brunt. How the Indian democracy is reacting with nationwide condemnation is a sign of maturity. The voters will respond to this financial corruption in the next voting season. There is no need for a NAB in UP to come into action or the local Corps Commander to move his troops to capture the provincial assembly.
After Musharraf dumped his own image, career and reputation, and that of the Pakistan Army, into the gutter, there is no moral or legal point in keeping Asif Zardari in jail, just because he imported a BMW. He is now close to being declared a ‘prisoner of conscience’, because if everyone is a thief in this land, why is a petty thief in jail when every robber friend of the military ruler is out, enjoying life and robbing the country.
There has to be a limit to injustice, pettiness, victimization and bigotry. REFERENCE: Will You Please Let Asif Ali Zardari Go! Shaheen Sehbai
“UNQUOTE”
Perhaps supporters of PPP could explain me the comments of Mr Daniel Devaud, in the SGS, Cotecna case against Benazir Bhutto and Zardari. Are these genuine comments?
First Devud mentioned three payments of commissions;
“BOMER FINANCES INC. USD 8,190.085.00 (eight million one hundred ninety thousand eighty five dollars);
• NASSAM OVERSEAS INC. USD 3,807,338.00 (three million eight hundred seven thousand three hundred thirty eight dollars);
• Mr Jens Schlegelmilch USD 1,538,014.00 (one million five hundred thirty eight thousand and fourteen dollars);”
Then he makes these comments;
“Hans Fischer and Robert MASSEY, had consented to a sacrifice of more than USD 5 million for the sole purpose of making a donation, without compensation, to the couple Bhutto-Zardari.
If Benazir Bhutto had acted fairly, it would not be herself or her husband, but rather the State of Pakistan, which should have benefited, by example in the form of a discount on amounts billed by SGS and Cotecna, from the financial sacrifice that SGS and Cotecna were prepared to make;
That it is moreover not doubtful that the behavior of Benazir Bhutto and her husband is criminally reprehensible in Pakistan, as evidenced by the criminal procedures undertaken in this regard and to which the recent decision by the Supreme Court does not put an end;
That the above finding dispenses the judge to examine whether the behavior of Benazir Bhutto meets the constitutive elements of a crime of passive corruption, within the meaning of article 315a CP and the corresponding provisions of the Pakistani penal code, it being nevertheless remembered that Pakistan has always contended that the contracts concluded by Benazir Bhutto acting for Pakistan with SGS and Cotecna on 29 September 1994 were in violation, by Benazir Bhutto, of the duties of her office;
That until 1 May 2000, the active corruption of foreign public agents was not subject to prosecution in Switzerland, so that Jens Schlegelmilch cannot be reproached in Geneva for actions relating to such a corruption;
That he cannot either be blamed in Switzerland for the participation in unfair management of the Pakistani public interest or participation in the passive corruption of Benazir Bhutto (ATF 104 IV 239);”
Then the Devaud give very good news to Zardari, this news is probably the sole reason why the PPP goons don’t want to write the letter to the Swiss Government despite SC order. In clear violations of the constitution of Pakistan.
“That on the other hand, since the unfair management of public interests is a crime and that it does not matter whether this crime was committed abroad (art. 305bis, al. 3 CP), Mr Asif ali Zardari may be reproached in Switzerland for having.12 committed acts of laundering money arising from the criminal activities of Benazir Bhutto;
That by virtue of the principle of abstract double incrimination, which prevails in doctrine and in jurisprudence, the acts which, in Switzerland, were carried out in order to obstruct the identification of the origin, the discovery or the confiscation of assets of criminal origin are indeed punishable, even if the principal infraction did not occur in Switzerland (ACKERMANN, Einziehung, organisiertes Verbrechen und Geldwäscherei, vol. I, pp. 453 ss, n. 175 ss and citations);
That under Swiss law, the author of the principal crime may also be prosecuted for money laundering if he carries out actions proscribed by article 305bis CP (ATF 120 IV 329; 122 IV 211; 124 IV 276 = SJ 1999 p. 193);
That a fortiori he who, without being the so-called author of the principal crime, however contributes to its commission, must be prosecuted if, moreover, he participated in the putting into place of a structure having as its purpose that certain assets be paid according to modalities clearly destined to camouflage their real destination;”
And he writes further on the character of Benazir the following, mind you it was written before her death.
“For this is clearly the case in the present matter: Mrs. Benazir Bhutto not only carried out actions so that the agreement between BOMER FINANCE INC. be kept secret, but she also participated in the putting in place of companies which she knew would serve as a screen to camouflage the real recipients of funds which she would cause to be paid by SGS and Cotecna;
That use of “screen” companies is typical of acts punishable under article 305bis CP (ATF 119 IV 245; 124 IV 276 = SJ 1999 p. 193; CASSANI, Commentaire du droit penal suisse, vol. 9, pp. 72 ss, n. 31 ss; CORBOZ, Les principales infractions, vol. II, p. 312, n. 25);”
Devaud clarifies further the guilt of Benazir and the appropriate law applicable;
“That this subjective element is also met in the present case, notwithstanding the silence of Mrs Benazir Bhutto. Since:
• It is not necessary that the author knew -or should have known- with precision from which precise principal infraction came the assets in question, nor that he knew the author of this infraction: it suffices that the author had envisaged or accepted that these assets came from a behavior capable of a large sanction, or that they served as remuneration of such behavior (CASSANI, op. Cit., p. 8, n. 51);
• Mrs Benazir Bhutto knew that the “bribes” paid by SGS and Cotecna were destined for her and her husband;
• The precautions taken by Mr Asif Ali Zardari in concert with Mr Jens Schlegelmilch in order to keep the concluded agreement secret clearly demonstrate that he was aware of its illicit character;
That in summary, Mrs. Benazir Bhutto thus knew that she was acting in a criminally reprehensible manner by abusing her role in order to obtain for herself or her husband, considerable sums in the sole private interest of her family at the cost of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan;
That, in order to fix a penalty, the Investigating Magistrate has applied the criteria of article 63 CPS;
That the accused fulfills the objective and subjective conditions for the granting of a measure of probation, the Judge of Investigation esteeming that such a measure would be of such a nature to deter her from committing new infractions;
That the laundered assets may be confiscated provided that they are still in the possession of the launderer. If not, the confiscation may only bear on the consideration obtained by the author in remuneration for the committed infractions. If the assets which served as this remuneration are no longer available, notably because they have been mixed with the estate of the author, the confiscation may be replaced by the payment of a compensatory claim (art. 59. ch.1 and 2 CP; ATF O. of 19.2.2001 cons. 3c, n° 6S.667/2001; ATF 126 I 197 cons. 3c. bb; 122 IV 365= SJ 1999 I 419-420; CASSANI, “Le blanchiment d’ argent, un crime sans victime ?”; in Wirtschaft und Strafrecht, Zürich 2001, p. 498-499);”
At the end a coup and disgraceful comments for Ali Baba;
“That these confiscated amounts represent a sum of USD 11,734,665.00.
That the amounts frozen do not fully cover the sum to be reimbursed; therefore, Mrs. Benazir Bhutto shall be condemned, jointly with Mr Asif Ali Zardari, to the payment of the balance by way of a compensatory claim in the amount of USD 262,758.00, i.e. in Swiss francs, at the exchange rate 1.324, CHF 347,892.00.”
You the supporters of PPP say BB and Ali Baba are not guilty? The money was confiscated without guilt and without it was obtained by illegal means?
I think you have misled simple and uneducated Pakistanis enough, time to own up to your leaders guilt. This is just one example, where “Ali Baba” got caught because of the Laws of Switzerland. Only Ali Baba and Allah SWT knows how much he has accumulated as bribe and corruption in the three period your crooked and criminal party had been in power.
No wonder Baber Awan the game keeper turned poacher is making any and every excuse possible not to write the letter to the Swiss authorities. You should read what I re-produced here with open eyes and references provided by Mr. Daniel Devaud.
What make me laugh are the efforts made your crooked leaders, such legal stalwarts like Khosa and Awan, that the sentence was suspended. What they don’t tell to the innocent people of Pakistan, in the West the Courts give Suspended Sentences to almost all the people who have committed non-violent crimes. Due to the shortage of space in the Jails, and from the fact that it costs more to the state to keep a person in the Jail. These suspended sentences become active if the convict reoffends. Nevertheless, it is still a sentence and the person is a convict, an offender and a criminal having received a sentence.
At the end I ask all of you the Supporter of PPP some very simple questions;
1- Why Ali Baba have so many compaies set up in Tax Heavan?
2- What Business activities carrid out by these Companies?
3-Have these Companies and Income received by these Companies declared by Ali Baba?
4- If it is please show us, and also show how much tax he has paid on the Incom received by these companies, any where in the world?
5- Is he not the citizen and resident of Pakistan? Does he decalare all his income from around the world on his tax returns?
6- If he pays taxes on these Income in any part of the World , he should still declare it and follow the procedure of Doube taxation.
Like I said many times before, Khosa, Awan , Faisal et al, had it easy in Pakistani media. Give me a chance and I will render them naked to the Public in minutes.
Dear Skunk, aap jeet gaye. Hum nay haar maanee…Aap khush ho jao. Daniel Devaud is an angel. Saif ur Rehman is an angel. Nawaz Sharif is angel. All the NAB is full of angels. Bus! You wanted to hear this?
Now that you know so much, please explain the story of USD 60 million.
Also can you let us know, that BB and AAZ had taken bribes from SGS and Cotecna, who are both headquartered in Switzerland, how come no action has ever been taken against them? Getting to the source of money and leaving a money trail is not so difficult. So what has happened with cotecna and sgs?
You are too good. Please enlighten us further.
“Now that you know so much, please explain the story of USD 60 million.”
What about it? Why you want to mix apples and oranges? I only responded to the topic in hand. Explain if BB and Ali Baba are guilty or not? And why USD 11 million were confiscated, if they were earned legally and legitimately?
“Also can you let us know, that BB and AAZ had taken bribes from SGS and Cotecna, who are both headquartered in Switzerland, how come no action has ever been taken against them?”
Did you failed to notice the comments of Devour? He said, if this discount was paid directly on the deal, it would have benefited the Pakistani nation. That the companies were ready to offer the discount, but BB and Ali Bbab filled up their own pockets.
Another poser, let’s say, if a Policeman in Pakistan asked you for a bribe, who would be dismissed and put behind the bar, you or the Policeman? Get real my friend. You should be ashamed of yourself to support such crooks.
I asked these questions from your “High Commissioner” Wajid ShamsulHassan. His reluctance exactly like yours put me off from your Party and from Pakistani Politics and Politicians for good. No wonder that despicable person was marshalling the troops in Switzerland to get hold of the evidence on behalf of his master the Ali Baba. This is the reality of your Party and its big wigs; you should seriously examine your thought process. In any other civilized country, such corrupt persons should be thrown out immediately from the party. But in your corrupt party they are protected.
But supporters like you waste so much time and efforts to prove them innocent. I am afraid; their acts are so vicious that you can never ever succeed to defend them against someone like me. Like I said before, you cannot use canned logic against me.
I give you another poser, your party say, Zardari is immune, but according to this verdict Zardari is a convicted criminal. When he took office he was convicted, therefore, he was not illegible for the post of the President. He is not immune from the prosecution as a President; he is disqualified from the post of the President. Only in Pakistan these things would be allowed and you keep misleading poor uneducated and innocent people by lies and deceptions while looting the national wealth and filling up your own pockets, PPP truly is a Permanent plunder Party.
skunk dont narrate TOTA KANIAN of ur masters the great Nawaz Sharif and Saif ur rehman. That decision of Mr. Devoud was “thrown Out” on the first hearing of the appeal. Quoting that decision is not relevant. let me give u some knowledge about the case see this news report
Swiss close case against Zardari; $60 mln unfrozen
Stephanie Nebehay
GENEVA
Tue Aug 26, 2008 11:49am EDT
GENEVA (Reuters) – Swiss judicial authorities said on Tuesday they had closed a money-laundering case against Pakistani presidential candidate Asif Ali Zardari and released $60 million frozen in Swiss accounts over the past decade.
WORLD | STOCKS
Daniel Zappelli, Geneva’s chief prosecutor, said that he had no evidence to bring Zardari, 55, the widower of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, to trial.
Pakistan’s government recently dropped out of all related cases it had initiated in Switzerland, saying the couple could not be accused of corruption, he said.
Zappelli said the full $60 million in assets, seized at the request of the Pakistan authorities, had been released.
“All the money has been unfrozen. For money-laundering to be proven, you have to show it was the product of a crime,” Zappelli told Reuters.
“Pakistan has withdrawn its requests for judicial assistance and has said it has no claim on the frozen assets,” he said.
He declined to say exactly who owned the accounts holding the $60 million, citing confidentiality. But 3.9 million Swiss francs ($3.55 million) in commissions had reverted to the state of Geneva’s coffers after not being claimed, he said.
Zardari’s lawyer Saverio Lembo welcomed Zappelli’s decision to shelve the long-running case. “It confirms what my client has pleaded since 1997,” he told Reuters.
In February Swiss lawyers for Pakistan told a Geneva hearing that Zardari was the beneficial owner of offshore companies at the heart of criminal cases in which Pakistan was a civil party.
Geneva judicial authorities have been investigating allegations since 1997 that Bhutto and Zardari took kickbacks from Swiss cargo inspection companies and channeled some $12 million via offshore companies in Swiss bank accounts.
In addition Pakistan had asked the Swiss authorities to block further funds, so that a total of $60 million was frozen.
Pakistan did not pursue corruption allegations against Zardari at home after the Pakistan Supreme Court in 2001 annulled a 1999 conviction against the couple.
Zardari has spent altogether 11 years in prison on corruption, drug-smuggling and murder charges, which he denies.
Bhutto was assassinated on December 27, thrusting her husband into the centre of politics. Zardari is running in a September 6 presidential election to replace Pervez Musharraf.
The couple always denied the charges, calling them politically motivated, but were convicted by a Geneva court in 2003 of laundering kickbacks. That verdict was also thrown out on appeal, sparking a wider probe by an investigating judge.
Contracts to inspect Pakistan cargo were awarded to Societe Generale de Surveillance SGS and its former affiliate Cotecna, both Swiss-based, in 1994 when Bhutto was prime minister and Zardari was investment minister.
“In the SGS/Cotecna case, no funds belonging to Benazir Bhutto were found,” Zappelli said.
Pakistan’s attorney-general had recently written to Zappelli saying there had been no irregularities in awarding the contracts and it was dropping out of all cases which it said had been brought “for political reasons”, Zappelli said.
Zardari, who leads Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), is caught up in a political crisis at home following Musharraf’s resignation in the face of a threat to impeach him.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLQ17107020080826
This report is from Reuters pl. read from THe couple always denied the charges….The report says that the decision of Devoud was “Thrown Out”.
The fact of the matter is that this case continued for ii years in Swiss Court but remained at inestigative level. In Pakistan the case was decided against the Couple but again our own Supreme Court set aside the sentence saying that The trial Judge had his own interests and was under pressure from the then Prime Minister. The horrible thing is The Supreme Court admitted such blunders were done by the trial judge but it chose to send the case for RETRIAL. If this had happen in a civilized country where judges go by the law book the verdict given by Malik Qayyum would have been QUASHED once for all and the accused would have been acquitted.
Mr. Skunk u r following a MIRAGE. There is nothing in these stories. Dont waste ur time cursing BB or Zardari rather u should ask these shameless Judges and those who r still trumpetting the same bogus allegations to come to their senses and follw the law.
Akmal,
So why don’t you quote that decision of the Appellant court, you say thrown out the decision of Devarou?
As for the article, that does not say anything about the appeal, it says, the chief prosecutor withdraws the investigation. This was done in August 2008 according to the Article. This was result of Pakistani Government withdrawing from the case, and ceased to be the part in the investigation, after Qayyum Malik, another blot on the conscious of humanity wrote that infamous letter.
This letter is the bone of contention if you have failed to notice by now. That’s why; your crooks and goons do not want to write to Swiss Government to withdraw that letter. I say if there was no evidence then why it was withdrawn after NRO by Q Malik? And why your PPP is reluctant to write the letter despite repeated orders by the SCP?
I have never seen so much reluctant for a non existent case and lack of evidence. Babar Awan “the Crook”, the poacher in the guise of game keeper, violator of Law acting as guardian of law, said this letter will be written “over my dead body”.
But you see all the efforts of PPP are back firing, no matter what, your crooks would be held responsible for not following SCP orders and refusing to write the letter. Now SCP has widen the net, it says, all the proceedings in the foreign countries, which were stop due to NRO should be re-open. Let me give you a snap shot of the SCP decision.
In Para IX of its judgement on NRO, the Supreme Court of Pakistan said,
“That since the NRO stands declared void ab initio, therefore, any actions taken or suffered under the said law are also non existent in law and since the communications addressed by Malik Muhammad Qayyum to various foreign fora/authorities/courts withdrawing the requests earlier made by the Government of Pakistan for Mutual Legal Assistance; surrendering the status of Civil Party; abandoning the claims to the allegedly laundered moneys lying in foreign countries including Switzerland, have also been declared by us to be unauthorised and illegal communications and consequently of no legal effect, therefore, it is declared that the initial requests for Mutual Legal Assistance; securing the status of Civil Party and the claims lodged to the allegedly laundered moneys lying in foreign countries, including Switzerland, are declared never to have been withdrawn. Therefore, the Federal Government and other concerned authorities are ordered to take immediate steps to seek revival of the said requests, claims and status.”
Akmal, the order is for all proceedings in foreign lands not just Switzerland, no wonder Babar “the corrupt” Awan said, “over my dead body”.
I am sure you know of “Rockwood estate”, Ali Baba denied he owned the property for years, but when it was auctioned by the creditors; his legal representative claimed Ali Baba is the legal benefactor of the money. The proceeds from the sale of this house are still in liquidator’s account. It was about to be transferred to Pakistan, but Musharaf sent NAB officers and withdraw Pakistan claim to this money, after he started to negotiate NRO with BB, to show his willingness and eagerness to forgo what was national wealth. He acted like it was his personal fortune which he can forgive against the corrupt leaders of PPP.
Do you know how much money this transaction has in the liquidator account? And what about the lies perpetrated by Ali Baba and BB for almost 10 years, that they do not own this estate? And yeah for good measure, this estate was bought in the name of different entities and trusts in tax heavens like Jersey and Liechtenstein. Isn’t amazing, Ali Baba, always do deals hiding behind these shady companies, registered in the palaces which are famous for laundering money and hiding illicit wealth?
Then there is issue of case in the Spain for “oil for food” fiasco by BB and likes of Rehman Malik. That case is also alive and kicking. Rehman Malik is the owner of various fast food franchises in the UK, who was earning a meagre salary as DG in IB. But surprisingly, he had such a good luck he managed to build a massive empire on his few thousand rupees meagre salary.
We know, for the corrupt PPP and its supporters, it is literally pouring not just raining. When we the mere mortals get watery rain, they have shower of money from the heaven.
How long they and you the supporters of PPP are going to fool the People of Pakistan? Can’t you see the writings on the wall?
It was a one line decision setting aside the Devoud remarks and the case was reffered to investigative authority. I think this should have your mind.
Now what u say about the Judges of the Pakistani Supreme court. U would feel shame reading the judgement. THis judgement on appeals from Zardari and BB is the blatant violation of the constitution of pakistan article 13 which prohibits double jeopardy.
Let us ask the law loving judges when will they apply article 13. Do read the following report about the decision of the supreme court of pakistan in the appeals of Zardari and shaheed BB against their conviction. The appeal had been filed in 1999 with request of AQUITTAL. The prosecution had ended its case and the trial court had given its verdict. Article 13 says “no person shall be PROSECUTED or PUNISHED in the same offence twice”. The couple had been PROSECUTED and PUNISHED by the trial court once. The case as being admitted by the full bench of the SCP that the trial was not above suspicion. there was pressure from then PM. the judge had personal interest in the case, even then it was returned for retrial. The evidence comprising tapes had not been attached with the appeal. The conditions and atmosphere of the trial in the trial court were hostile as admitted by SCP. The Court should have acquitted the Couple but to keep them under political pressure the case was sent for retrial as dictated by the regime.Following is the Transparency International report about the case
http://www.cvc.nic.in/Vol%201%20Issue%203%202003.pdf
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