An Accountability Court, led by Judge Nasir Javed Rana, rejected Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan‘s plea for acquittal in a £190 million settlement reference.
Imran Khan’s legal team maintained that Al-Qadir University, the entity allegedly benefiting from the funds, operates as a trust. They stressed that Khan did not personally profit from the trust and had no role in its financial dealings. However, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) prosecutor challenged these assertions, claiming Khan did not fully disclose critical information about the £190 million to his cabinet. He argued that this omission misled the cabinet about the fund’s origins and usage, making Khan’s request for acquittal untenable.
In a related development, the court has postponed its decision on an acquittal request from Khan’s wife, Bushra Bibi, in the same financial reference. This delay follows NAB’s investigations, which suggest that Khan, his wife, and others were acquiring significant land parcels in the name of Al Qadir University Trust, purportedly causing a £190 million loss to the national treasury.
The allegations against the former prime minister and his associates centre on the supposed misappropriation of Rs50 billion—equivalent to £190 million at that time—received from the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA). NAB contends that they improperly adjusted this amount against government receipts, benefitting the private trust.
NAB has formally charged Imran Khan and seven others, including his wife, in a corruption reference concerning their roles with Al-Qadir University. The PTI chief officially registered the trust for this educational project on December 26, 2019.
