Asif Ali Zardari, the controversial politician who took over the leadership of the party of his murdered wife Benazir Bhutto, spent more than eleven years in jail, being charged with corruption. Now, when he has been elected the new president of Pakistan.
Benazir Bhutto who came to power in 1988 was swept out from her post after two years, on allegations of incompetence and corruption. Most of these charges were directed against her husband Zardari, who was jailed, but came from prison directly into the office of minister of investment when his wife was reelected in 1993. Her government fell again in 1996, and he was rearrested being charged of murder. This remained unproven, but he stayed in prison until 2004 due to a range of other charges, including money laundering.
Money laundering cases included revelations of more than a dozen bank accounts in London and Swiss banks, and various properties in the UK, US, France and Dubai. The trail lead to offshore jurisdictions from Liechtenstein to the British Virgin Islands, but all the charges tumbled because of the lack of evidence. It was said by judge Lawrence Collins that, although there was “no direct evidence”, the government of Pakistan had a “reasonable prospect” of proving corruption in a civil case. Now it is unlikely to be pursued.