Tag Archives: sentence

Pakistan: Former PM Imran Khan, wife Bushra Bibi sentenced to prison in corruption case

Pakistani court sentences Imran Khan to prison
Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan sentenced to prison in corruption case. Photo Courtesy: Sayed Z Bukhari X page

A Pakistani court on Friday sentenced former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi to prison after finding them guilty in a 190 million British pounds (USD 240 million) case.

Khan, a cricket legend who captained the national team to 1992 World Cup victory, was sentenced to 14 years in prison.

His wife received seven years of imprisonment.

Khan is currently lodged in jail.

Accountability Court Judge Nasir Javed Rana announced the order in a courtroom inside Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail, where Khan has been kept for the past one year.

In addition to the prison sentences, the court imposed fines of PKR 1 million on Imran and PKR 500,000 on Bushra, reported The Express Tribune.

In case the fines are not paid, Imran would need to serve an additional six months in prison.

Bushra Bibi will have to stay in prison for three more months.

As per Dawn News report, the case alleges that Imran and Bushra obtained billions of rupees and land measuring hundreds of kanals from Bahria Town Ltd for legalising PKR 50 billion that was identified and returned to the country by the United Kingdom during the previous PTI government.

Amid tight security, the court announced the verdict, following which Bushra Bibi was arrested in the courtroom.

Calling the verdict politically motivated, PTI has announced it will challenge the conviction.

Khan was ousted from power in 2022 after a no-confidence motion was passed against him.

PTI leader Meher Bano Qureshi reacted to the development and wrote on X: “The real question here is why did Malik Riaz over pay? What favours were granted in return and when does NAB plan to pursue that case because this falls under corrupt practice.”

Nimisha Priya: Iran promises to help Indian-origin nurse facing death sentence in Yemen

While the case of Nimisha Priya, the Indian-origin nurse who is facing a death sentence in Yemen for the murder of a Yemeni national in 2017, remains grim currently, her family can take confidence from Iran’s latest declaration. “We will take up this issue regarding this nurse. We will do whatever we can,” a senior Iranian official told reporters in New Delhi on Thursday.

Nimisha Priya was arrested in 2017 in Yemen. Photo courtesy: X/@myvakil
Nimisha Priya was arrested in 2017 in Yemen. Photo courtesy:

For context, Priya’s case is being tried in Sanaa, the administrative capital of Yemen. The city is under the control of the Iran-aligned Houthi militants. Thus, the declaration of help by the high-ranking Iranian official comes as a beacon of hope for the nurse’s family, who’s hoping for a reversal of the decision.

Earlier today, January 3, India’s Ministry of External Affairs provided an update on Priya, who hails from Kerala’s Palakkad district. “We are closely following the developments in Nimisha Priya’s case. The government is extending all possible help in the matter. We will see how this goes forward from here,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said during a press briefing.

Earlier, Jaiswal had said that the Indian government is extending all possible help in the matter.

The death sentence, which could be executed within a month, was approved by Yemen’s President Rashad al-Alimi on December 30. Priya, who has been in prison since 2017,  was arrested for the alleged murder of Yemeni national and her business partner Talal Abdo Mehdi in July 2017.

Priya’s family has been fighting for her release since then and has even approached Yemen’s Supreme Court against the trial court order.

The Yemeni Supreme Court had rejected the appeal in 2023.

Priya’s mother Prema Kumari reached Yemen earlier this year and has been staying in the capital city, while trying to explore options to waive her daughter’s death sentence.

The other way Priya could be saved is by paying ‘blood money’.

Yemen follows the Sharia law, which has provision of the killer paying a financial compensation to the victim’s family to avoid harsh punishments like death sentences. The system is known as Diyya.

While no amount has been fixed so far, Priya’s family is hoping to utilise this method to save her.

“It is still possible to hold talks with Mahdi’s family, convince them to pardon Priya possibly in exchange for blood money and secure her release. The Indian government can help locate the tribal leaders and the victim’s family and bring them to the table for talks,” said Subhash Chandran, a Supreme Court lawyer who appeared for Priya’s mother Prema Kumari in the Delhi high court, as quoted by the Hindustan Times.

“The ‘Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council’ will take care of the financial aspects of arranging the blood money,” the lawyer added. The council was formed in 2020 to help raise funds to secure Priya’s release.

Rishi Shah, Shradha sentenced for defrauding Goldman Sachs, Alphabet in billion-dollar scheme

NRI PULSE STAFF REPORT

Chicago, IL, July 3, 2024: Rishi Shah, the Indian American co-founder of Outcome Health, has been sentenced to 7.5 years in prison for orchestrating a massive fraud scheme that defrauded investors and clients of nearly $1 billion. His co-founders, Shradha Agarwal and Brad Purdy, were also sentenced for their roles in the scheme. Agarwal received three years in a halfway house, and Purdy received two years and three months in prison.

Outcome Health, founded in 2006 and known as Context Media prior to 2017, installed television screens and tablets in doctors’ offices across the U.S. to display pharmaceutical advertisements. Shah, Agarwal, and Purdy inflated the company’s financial performance and advertising reach by selling more advertising inventory than they had and under-delivering on advertising campaigns. They invoiced clients as if they had delivered in full and falsified data to secure loans and investments.

Major investors defrauded by the scheme included Goldman Sachs, Google’s parent company Alphabet (through its investment arm CapitalG), and the Pritzker Group. These investors were part of a $500 million funding round in 2017, valuing Outcome Health at $5.5 billion at the time.

The fraud resulted in a significant overstatement of Outcome’s revenue for 2015 and 2016, enabling Shah and his team to raise $110 million in debt financing in April 2016, $375 million in December 2016, and $487.5 million in equity financing in early 2017. The $110 million debt financing resulted in a $30.2 million dividend to Shah and a $7.5 million dividend to Agarwal, while the $487.5 million equity financing yielded a $225 million dividend benefiting both Shah and Agarwal.

Shah was convicted of multiple counts, including mail fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering. Agarwal and Purdy were also convicted on multiple counts of fraud. The scheme resulted in at least $45 million in overbilled advertising services.

“This was an elaborate, billion-dollar fraud scheme by three people who were supposed to be leaders of the company,” said FBI Executive Assistant Director Timothy Langan. The FBI and FDIC-OIG, along with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, investigated the case.

Shah plans to appeal the verdict.

Singapore: 3-year-jail sentence for ex-school badminton coach who had sex with minor student

A former secondary college badminton coach has been sentenced to jail for three years for participating in sex with a 15-year-old student.

A representational image of a jail. Photo Courtesy: Unsplash
A representational picture of a jail. Photo Courtesy: Unsplash

The man, now aged 33, was dismissed from his job in June 2019 after the college authorities discovered him responsible of sending inappropriate texts to different minor college students.

As per reviews, he would touch upon ladies’ figures and quiz them about their personal lives.

The individual pleaded responsible to 2 out of three counts of sexual penetration of a minor beneath 16, Mothership reported.

He was handed the sentence on May 23, 2024.

Reports stated that the coach and the sufferer’s interplay started after she joined the college badminton group in 2017. They began following one another on Instagram and finally began chatting. Soon, the frequency of those chats elevated.

As their closeness developed, the person would take the sufferer out for meals sometimes.

A yr later, the coach would maintain arms with the sufferer in public and take pleasure in bodily intimacy, together with kissing her after they have been alone in his automotive.

“The accused’s care and a focus in the direction of the sufferer made her really feel particular. The accused instructed her that they might solely be in an ‘unofficial’ relationship as he was already married and the sufferer agreed to this association,” Mothership quoted the prosecutor as saying.

After the sufferer turned 15 in 2019, the person requested her if he might have sex with her, which she refused. However, the person’s persistence led her to comply with the proposal, finally.

Meanwhile, the college had initiated an investigation by then. Upon questioning a number of college students, the principal discovered two extra victims who acquired inappropriate messages from the coach. After the completion of the inner investigation, the person was fired from his job.

The sexual encounter with the coach left the sufferer depressed. In 2022, the sufferer reached out to her college counsellors for assist.

Hesitant at first, the sufferer lodged a police grievance on the counsellors’ request on July 27, 2022.

The man was arrested the next day. He finally admitted to committing the offences.

Australian writer Yang Hengjun handed suspended death sentence in China

Australian writer Yang Hengjun handed suspended death in China
Australian author Yang Hengjun handed suspended death sentence in China. Photo Courtesy: Unsplash

A Chinese courtroom on Monday (February 5, 2024) gave a suspended death sentence to Australian author Yang Hengjun, 5 years after he was arrested on spying fees.

The sentence could also be commuted to life imprisonment after two years, in accordance with Australian officers as quoted by BBC.

The Australian author has denied the costs levelled in opposition to him.

Australia reacts

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong mentioned her authorities will likely be speaking its response to China in ‘strongest phrases’.

“Dr Yang has been detained since January 2019 on nationwide safety fees. His verdict and sentence have been topic to repeated delays since his closed trial on 27 May 2021,” Wong mentioned in an announcement.

She mentioned: “The Australian Government will likely be speaking our response in the strongest phrases.”

“The Australian Government has advocated for Dr Yang with China at each alternative, and on the highest ranges. We have persistently known as for fundamental requirements of justice, procedural equity and humane therapy for Dr Yang, in accordance with worldwide norms and China’s authorized obligations,” she mentioned.

“We will proceed to press for Dr Yang’s pursuits and wellbeing, together with applicable medical therapy, and supply consular help to him and his household,” she mentioned.

One of the supporters of Yang Hengjun described his detention as “political persecution”.

“He is punished by the Chinese authorities for his criticism of human rights abuses in China and his advocacy for common values resembling human rights, democracy and the rule of legislation,” his pal, Sydney educational Feng Chongyi, informed the BBC.

Reacting to the event, Human Rights Watch Asia Director Elaine Pearson informed BBC: “He has had delayed and restricted entry to authorized illustration, a closed door trial – and Yang himself has alleged torture and compelled confessions throughout his interrogations.”