LAHORE, March 7: An accountability court on Wednesday acquitted Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader Sohail Zia Butt in a corruption reference filed by the National Accountability Bureau.

The NAB had filed the reference against Butt on complaint of the National Industrial Cooperative Finance Corporation (NICFC) manager. According to the reference, the corporation had planned to buy a building, Ahmed Mansion, situated on The Mall that was under illegal occupation.

The corporation had an agreement with Butt, hiring his services to get the building vacated from illegal occupants. For the purpose, corporation had paid Rs2 million to Butt and also agreed to pay him 50 per cent of the rent of the building to him.

However, Butt did not fulfill the agreement and the corporation approached the NAB.

In 2001, an accountability court had convicted Butt in the reference, handing him down three-year term in absentia under section 31-A of the NAB Ordinance, besides declaring him a proclaimed offender. Later, in September 2010, Butt was arrested and sent to jail to serve the term.

The court later set aside the sentence after nullifying the order that declared Butt proclaim offender. — Staff Reporter