- News>
- Asia
Swiss court sentences Bhutto, Zardari in graft case
Islamabad Aug 05: A Swiss court has handed down Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and her husband Asif Zardari a six months suspended sentence and fined them 50,000 dollars each in a corruption case, their lawyer said today.
Islamabad Aug 05: A Swiss court has handed down
Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and her husband Asif
Zardari a six months suspended sentence and fined them 50,000
dollars each in a corruption case, their lawyer said today.
"The Swiss investigation officer Devaud has on July
31 passed an order pronouncing 6 months of suspended
sentence and a fine of 50, 000 dollars each to
Benazir Bhutto and Senator Asif Ali Zardari in the
pre-shipment inspection case", their lawyer Senator Farooq
Naek said in a statement here.
The court also seized Bhutto dollars bank accounts and a
necklace.
The case concerns allegations that Bhutto and Zardari
received millions of dollars in private commissions from a
Swiss National in return for awarding SGS, a Swiss firm, a
contract to inspect imports and exports during Bhutto's second
government from 1993 to 1996.
Naek said Bhutto and Zardari are now consulting legal
advisors to decide whether to file a representation against
investigation officer's order terming it "illogical,
unreasonable, inconsistent with law, based on malfide and
politically motivated".
He said the order, which was the outcome of a five year inquiry, was communicated to the Swiss Government yesterday.
The lawyer alleged that "during all these years that Devaud was supposedly investigating the case and until his last day in office (July 31) no notices were served either on Bhutto or Zardari even though the latter was in jail and within reach.
He said the order, which was the outcome of a five year inquiry, was communicated to the Swiss Government yesterday.
The lawyer alleged that "during all these years that Devaud was supposedly investigating the case and until his last day in office (July 31) no notices were served either on Bhutto or Zardari even though the latter was in jail and within reach.