The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Thursday again filed reference of liquefied natural gas (LNG) scandal.
The anti-corruption watchdog has addressed the objections raised by the registrar office of accountability court and re-filed the reference, nominating former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and nine others as accused.
NAB judge Azam Khan will formally hear the reference in courtroom number 2.
It is to be mentioned here that the apex court on September 10, 2018 had directed NAB to complete inquiry against Abbasi and others for the alleged corruption in the LNG contract.
As the minister for petroleum and natural resources, Abbasi has been accused of granting contract on LNG Terminal to ETPL, Tri-partial agreement, LSA with EETPL and LNG import from Qatar etc.
In June 2018, the NAB approved inquiry against former premier Nawaz Sharif and Abbasi, who was the former minister for petroleum and natural resources at that time, in granting contract of LNG terminal for 15 years to their ‘favourite’ company.
It was also observed that this contract had allegedly caused a loss of billions of rupees to the national exchequer.
In January, the NAB interrogated former finance minister Miftah Ismail in the same case.
According to NAB documents, the contract for the LNG import and distribution was awarded to the Elengy Terminal, a subsidiary of Engro, in 2013 in violation of the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) rules and relevant laws.
Meanwhile, an accountability court extended judicial remand of Opposition Leader in Punjab Assembly Hamza Shahbaz in assets beyond known sources of income, till December 23.
Hamza Shahbaz could not be produced before the court due to strike of lawyers. The court while extending the judicial remand of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) stalwart for 10 days, ordered to present him before the court again on December 23.
During the last hearing of the case on November 28, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had submitted supplementary reference in the ongoing Ramzan Sugar Mills corruption investigations against the politician in the court.
Hamza was handed over copies of the reference and was ordered to submit an answering to the allegations accordingly.
Mahmood and Rafiq had earlier recorded their confessional statements before a judicial magistrate under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). They confessed to having laundered millions of dollars to Hamza Shahbaz, Salman Shehbaz, and others through telegraphic transfers (TT) from abroad.
It is noteworthy that another alleged frontman of the Sharif family, Mushtaq Cheeni, had also confessed to laundering over Rs600m for Shahbaz Sharif’s sons.
Similarly, an accountability court extended five days’ judicial remand of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) stalwart Syed Khursheed Shah in assets beyond means case on Thursday.
The court ordered the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to produce Shah again on December 17.
Khursheed Shah was produced before the accountability court on completion of his earlier five days’ remand.
In a previous hearing accountability court had extended judicial remand of the PPP leader for five days till December 12.
Syed Khursheed Shah who is currently under treatment at the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) Sukkur, was produced before the court in an ambulance from the NICVD hospital amid tight security measures on completion of his remand period.
The NAB requested the court an extension in judicial remand of Khursheed Shah.
Syed Khursheed Shah was taken into custody by the NAB on September 28 over charges of accumulating assets beyond known sources of income.
Earlier, the National Accountability Bureau had decided to form a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to probe into the case against Shah.
The anti-corruption watchdog written a letter to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman, Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Director General and Securities and Exchange Companies of Pakistan (SECP) chairman and sought names of officers for a JIT.
A spokesperson of the bureau said a JIT investigation was necessary before filing reference against the PPP leader.
On the other hand, the NAB investigators have summoned Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) central leader and former defence minister, Khawaja Asif’s family members on Friday (today) in connection with Sialkot housing scheme scandal case.
The anti-corruption watchdog has made progress in a case related to financial irregularities in a private housing scheme of Sialkot against Khawaja Asif and his family. The politician’s wife and son were summoned at the NAB’s Lahore office.
The investigators have asked them to bring relevant records, whereas, former mayor of Sialkot, Chaudhry Tauheed Akhtar was summoned at 11:00 am. The accused persons are facing charges of illegal trade of the plots of a private housing scheme.
NAB sources said that the accused persons possessed 150 canals of leased land but 400 canals were sold out by them.
