Is this the beginning of the end for Benazir Bhutto, the charismatic 46-year-old leader of the Pakistan People's Party? Later this month she is due back in court to answer charges that, while prime minister, she received more than £2 million in kickbacks over a government contract to purchase Polish tractors. Not surprisingly, Ms Bhutto is contemptuous of the charges and has dismissed them as nothing more than a "politically inspired witch hunt" but as the investigation progresses (it is now two years old) it is throwing up questions which Ms Bhutto is having difficulty answering.
The investigators say they have uncovered 36 undeclared bank accounts belonging to Ms Bhutto and her husband in the US, Britain, France and Switzerland. The accounts, it is said, were used to launder over £1 billion in kickbacks accumulated before Ms Bhutto was sacked as prime minister in 1996 on charges of mismanagement and corruption. The Pakistan government also maintains that none of the Bhutto family wealth - which is considerable - was declared for tax purposes so charges of tax evasion may well follow those of corruption.
Ms Bhutto's argument that the allegations are politically inspired would be shared by many of her party's followers. Certainly, the fact that the man behind the investigation is Mr Nawaz Sharif, the Prime Minister and her arch-rival, calls into question the impartiality of the investigators. The fact that it took two years to produce any charges at all suggests that the evidence has been slow to unearth despite painstaking efforts. And Mr Sharif badly needs to undermine Ms Bhutto and her party.
Mr Sharif is in trouble because the economy has faltered. He followed India on the insane road of nuclear testing (goaded by Ms Bhutto into doing so) and the international sanctions which followed have hurt the economy. The government has had to introduce unpopular spending cuts and it is planning an extension of sales tax; the past month has witnessed widespread strikes and protests. Mr Sharif's government has a massive majority in parliament but it is under pressure and losing popularity by the day. Small wonder then if the downfall of Ms Bhutto is not priority number one in the Prime Minister's office.
But while there may be something to Ms Bhutto's argument with regard to the Pakistan investigation, those that are taking place in Switzerland could not be construed as other than fair. A Swiss federal judge is planning to charge Ms Bhutto and her husband with money laundering. He has already indicted the couple's Swiss lawyer and the Swiss banking authorities have frozen 13 Bhutto accounts said to contain nearly £10 million. Under Swiss law, bank accounts cannot be frozen unless a prima-facie case has been established.
Ms Bhutto, as prime minister, installed her husband, Mr Zardari, as minister for investment. He awarded Pakistan's gold monopoly to a friend who subsequently paid Mr Zardari £7 million. Ms Bhutto cannot explain this. Her husband is said to have purchased a £3 million house in Surrey. Ms. Bhutto says that she does not know whether or not her husband is the owner. She denies knowledge of the 13 Swiss bank accounts. "We may have accounts, we may not. It's all handled by lawyers". Ms Bhutto's answers are less than persuasive.