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After the dismissal of Benazir Bhutto's first government on August 6, 1990 by President Ghulam Ishaq Khan on grounds of corruption, the government of Pakistan issued directives to its intelligence agencies to investigate the allegations. After the fourth national elections, Nawaz Sharif became the Prime Minister and intensified prosecution proceedings against Bhutto. Pakistani embassies through western Europe, in France, Switzerland, Spain, Poland and Britain were directed to investigate the matter. Bhutto and her husband faced a number of legal proceedings, including a charge of laundering money through Swiss banks. Though never convicted, her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, spent eight years in prison on similar corruption charges. After being released on bail in 2004, Zardari suggested that his time in prison involved torture. A 1998 ''New York Times'' investigative report〔(Bhutto Clan Leaves Trail of Corruption in Pakistan ), by John F. Burns, ''The New York Times'', 1998-01-09〕 claims that Pakistani investigators have documents that uncover a network of bank accounts, all linked to the family's lawyer in Switzerland, with Asif Zardari as the principal shareholder. According to the article, documents released by the French authorities indicated that Zardari offered exclusive rights to Dassault, a French aircraft manufacturer, to replace the air force's fighter jets in exchange for a 5% commission to be paid to a Swiss corporation controlled by Zardari. The article also said a Dubai company received an exclusive licence to import gold into Pakistan for which Asif Zardari received payments of more than $10 million into his Dubai-based Citibank accounts. The owner of the company denied that he had made payments to Zardari and claims the documents were forged. Bhutto maintained that the charges levelled against her and her husband were purely political.〔(Bhutto's Husband Appeals ) 11 May 1999〕〔(World News Briefs; Bhutto's Jailed Husband Sworn In as Senator ) 30 December 1997〕 In 2006, after 15 long years an Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) report was brought forward when President Musharraf was trying to gain support from Benazir bhutto. According to this report Benazir Bhutto was ousted from power in 1990 as a result of a witch hunt approved by then-president Ghulam Ishaq Khan. The AGP report says Khan illegally paid legal advisers 28 million rupees to file 19 corruption cases against Bhutto and her husband in 1990–92. Yet the assets held by Bhutto and her husband continue to be scrutinized and speculated about. The prosecutors have alleged that their Swiss bank accounts contain £740 million.〔(Corruption amnesty may release millions for Bhutto ), The Sunday Times, 2007-10-14〕 Zardari also bought a neo-Tudor mansion and estate worth over £4 million in Surrey, England, UK.〔(Asif Zardari lays claim to 4-mn-pound UK estate ), The Times of India, 2004-08-22〕〔(£4 m Surrey mansion in Bhutto 'corruption' row ), The Sunday Times, 2004-11-21〕 The Pakistani investigations have tied other overseas properties to Zardari's family. These include a $2.5 million manor in Normandy owned by Zardari's parents, who had modest assets at the time of his marriage.〔 Bhutto denied holding substantive overseas assets. ==Switzerland== On 23 July 1998, the Swiss Government handed over documents to the government of Pakistan which relate to corruption allegations against Benazir Bhutto and her husband.〔(South Asia Bhutto 'corruption' documents reach Pakistan ), Thursday, 23 July 1998〕 The documents included a formal charge of money laundering by Swiss authorities against Zardari. The Pakistani government had been conducting a wide-ranging inquiry to account for more than $13.7 million frozen by Swiss authorities in 1997 that was allegedly stashed in banks by Bhutto and her husband. The Pakistani government recently filed criminal charges against Bhutto in an effort to track down an estimated $1.5 billion she and her husband are alleged to have received in a variety of criminal enterprises.〔(Swiss Want Bhutto Indicted in Pakistan for Money Laundering ), 20 August 1998, Thursday, by Elizabeth Olson〕 The documents suggest that the money Zardari was alleged to have laundered was accessible to Benazir Bhutto and had been used to buy a diamond necklace for over $175,000.〔(Swiss Want Bhutto Indicted in Pakistan for Money Laundering ), August 20, 1998, Thursday, by Elizabeth Olson〕 The PPP has responded by flatly denying the charges, suggesting that Swiss authorities have been misled by false evidence provided by the Government of Pakistan. On 6 August 2003, Swiss magistrates found Bhutto and her husband guilty of money laundering.〔(Asia: Pakistan: Bhutto Sentenced In Switzerland ) 6 August 2003〕 They were given six-month suspended jail terms, fined $50,000 each and were ordered to pay $11 million to the Pakistani government. The six-year trial concluded that Bhutto and Zardari deposited in Swiss accounts $10 million given to them by a Swiss company in exchange for a contract in Pakistan. The couple said they would appeal. The Pakistani investigators say Zardari opened a Citibank account in Geneva in 1995 through which they say he passed some $40 million of the $100 million he received in payoffs from foreign companies doing business in Pakistan.〔(THE BHUTTO MILLIONS; A Background Check Far From Ordinary ), 9 January 1998, Friday, By JOHN F. BURNS (NYT)〕 In October 2007, Daniel Zappelli, chief prosecutor of the canton of Geneva, said he received the conclusions of a money laundering investigation against former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto on October 29, but it was unclear whether there would be any further legal action against her in Switzerland.〔(Swiss prosecutor gets case against Bhutto ), 29 October 2007, Monday, by The Associated Press〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Corruption charges against Benazir Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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