ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chief Imran Khan told the Sup­reme Court on Monday he never sent money out of Pakistan to be remitted back for the purpose of whitening it.

He said the amount remitted by his ex-wife Jemima Khan from London or the payments made to her out of the sale proceeds of the London flat was neither public funds nor laundered money and was earned by him as a professional cricketer, that too, after paying taxes.

Mr Khan submitted his statement before the court in response to observations made by a three-judge bench hearing a petition moved by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader Hanif Abbasi. The bench, headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, will take up the case again on Tuesday.

Mr Abbasi has sought disqualification of Mr Khan and PTI secretary general Jahangir Khan Tareen over non-disclosure of assets, for owning offshore companies, and for running a foreign-funded political party.

Referring to $700 remitted to the account of Rashid Ali Khan — a banker and his friend — Mr Khan explained that the money had been sent by his ex-wife from another source.

Mr Khan admitted that $120,029 sent in May 2003 and July 2003 was not received by him, but the amount had remained with Rashid Ali Khan, who was not obliged to declare the same.

About the $258,333, converted into rupees in April 2002, though he did not identify Ms Jemima as the remitter, Mr Khan said the remittance had come from the same CitiBank branch in the US, from which other remittances had also been identified.

The statement also explained the tranche paid to the seller of the Banigala land through various bank cheques, adding that all mutations were completed, incorporated or approved on Feb 27, 2003.

About Niazi Services Ltd (NSL), Mr Khan explained that he was neither a director nor a shareholder of the company, but rather a beneficial owner of it. He said he did not consider NSL, with nine subscribed shares, an asset, since his only asset was the London flat.

From the sale of the flat, a sum of 100,000 pounds was retained to meet the legal costs of litigation in the UK. It said that 24,005 pounds and $221, shown in the documents, represented rent on which tax was paid.

Mr Abbasi submitted an application highlighting that 114 ghost donors, 80 corporations, 23 people believed to be Indians, and 21 other foreigners had donated to the PTI-LLC California. Similarly in the case of PTI-LLC Texas, the number of ghost donors was 10, corporations 195, possible Indians 18 and foreigners 21.

Published in Dawn, May 30th, 2017