LONDON, Aug 9: Leading British dailies on Friday carried articles about a Swiss court’s judgment against former prime minister Benazir Bhutto for money laundering.

The Guardian said: “Details emerged yesterday of how a 117,000 pound diamond necklace led to the former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto and her husband being convicted of money laundering by a Swiss court last week.”

The daily said: “The order, a copy of which has been obtained by The Guardian, says that in 1995 the two companies, SGS and Cotecna, took up a contract for customs inspection of goods being imported into Pakistan.”

“The judge cited letters showing that six per cent of the amount paid by the Pakistan government under the inspection contract would be paid as commission to companies registered in the British Virgin Islands. One of these, Bomer Finances Inc, received $8.2 million and another, Nassam Overseas Inc, received $3.8 million, the judge found,” said the daily.

It said: “The beneficial owner of Bomer Finance is Ms Bhutto’s husband, Asif Ali Zardari, but in reality she shares the assets with him and has the power of disposition, the judge said.”

“The beneficial owner of Nassam Overseas is Nasir Hussain, who at the time was Ms Bhutto’s brother-in-law, he added. Evidence of Ms Bhutto’s role in Bomer Finance emerged from a visit to London during which she bought a diamond necklace at a Knightsbridge jeweller’s,” said the daily.

“The 117,000 pound bill was paid partly in cash and partly with money from Bomer Finance’s account. It was the only withdrawal made from the company’s account before its assets were frozen at the request of the Pakistani authorities,” it said.

“The necklace was later found in a Swiss bank vault, and was also seized. Under the judge’s ruling it must now be handed over to Pakistan,” said the daily.

The Financial Times said: “Almost $12 million that Benazir Bhutto, Pakistan’s former prime minister, and her husband have been ordered to return to Islamabad could be turned over to the Pakistani authorities within weeks,” Jeremy Carver, a lawyer close to the process said.

“If Ms Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari, her husband, do not lodge an appeal by Aug 13 against a Swiss judgment that found them and their lawyer guilty of money laundering, the funds, which have been frozen in Geneva bank accounts, will be returned,” it said.

It said: “The conviction, in which Ms Bhutto and her husband were fined, given suspended jail sentences and ordered to repay the laundered money, represents a severe blow to Ms Bhutto.”

The Khaleej Times, Dubai, said in an editorial that the conviction could not be termed biased.

“If a similar ruling was given in Pakistan, surely, the former leader would have cast aspersions against the judges involved in the case,” it said. But, the editorial observed, the case was argued before and the judgment delivered by an independent Swiss judge, who could not be called biased.—APP