Broadsheet hired Matrix Research to investigate Nawaz Sharif’s assets but found nothing
LONDON: According to Sir Anthony Evan’s judgement pertaining to the dispute between Broadsheet LLC and the Government of Pakistan, Broadsheet LLC had hired Matrix Research Ltd to investigate Nawaz Sharif and 8 family members at a total cost of £480,000 but found nothing during its investigations.
Neither Broadsheet LLC, which has been awarded a sum of $28.7 million nor Matrix Research Ltd, which specialises in asset recoveries was able to find any asset belonging to Nawaz Sharif or his family except for the Avenfield flats which had been declared long before the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) or Broadsheet came into being.
According to the judgement, which has been seen by The Pakistan Daily, “Soon after the inception of the ARA, Mr James employed Matrix Research Limited (Matrix) asset recovery specialists.”
Sir Anthony Evans writes: “The co founder and managing director of Matrix, Robert Bryne described them ‘as a team of industry specialists that worked for a small number of substantial clients’.
“He said that he knew of Mr James from previously working at Trouvons LLC and that Matrix was engaged by Broadsheet, first, to produce a feasibility report on a specific project, namely, an investigation into the financial affairs of Mian Nawaz Sharif.”
According to the judgement which has now been disclosed after both Mr Kaveh Moussavi of Broadsheet and the Government of Pakistan have allowed publication, Broadsheet and Matrix representatives made several trips to Islamabad but they were not able to find any financial wrongdoing on the part of Mian Nawaz Sharif.
The judgement also states that Gen Maqbool, who served as the Chairman of NAB in 2001, during Gen Musharraf’s military dictatorship that the matter regarding Mian Nawaz Sharif should be put “on hold”.
In an interview with this correspondent, Mr Kaveh Moussavi had criticised Nawaz Sharif for stating that the Broadsheet verdict had “exonerated” him alleging that the verdict had done the opposite of that, however, at that time, the judgement had been withheld.
During the interview, Mr Moussavi had praised Gen Amjad, who was the first Chairman NAB as a professional interested in accountability, however, Gen Amjad, as a witness in the arbitration between Broadsheet and the Government of Pakistan was not impressed by Broadsheet’s performance.
Gen Amjad, in his first witness statement, said: “I was only in office for about 3 months after the signing of the Broadsheet agreement. However, I had a significant opportunity to observe that Broadsheet seemed to have grossly misinterpreted and exaggerated their competencies and resources with respect to their asset recovery programme.”
The judgement further states: “Broadsheet was a newly formed Isle of Man company with negligible assets, no experience, and apart from the ARA, no current business activity.”
During a conversation with this correspondent, Mr Moussavi had confirmed that Broadsheet LLC was under liquidation and even calling him the CEO of Broadsheet LLC was a misnomer since the company was in the hands of a liquidator.
The liquidation of Broadsheet had seemingly irked Ahmer Bilal Soofi, who served as a legal representative for NAB at the time. Soofi expressed concern about paying the company after it was in liquidation, according to the judgement.
More recently, Mr Moussavi had claimed that he had found an account worth $1 billion in Singapore belonging to a politician in Pakistan, however, Barrister Shahzad Akbar, who belongs to the Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf had said that no evidence regarding that account was shared with the Government of Pakistan.
To read the full judgement, please download the file below.
