No match to NAB’s twists to show its ‘extraordinary performance’

ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) claim of recoveries of hundreds of billions of rupees is an unusual twist of facts to show extraordinary performance through highly exaggerated figures.

Sources in the NAB share certain examples to expose the NAB calculations. The NAB which claimed to have recovered over Rs500 billion during Javed Iqbal’s tenure as chairman include most of the amount that does not exist.

Last chairman Aftab Sultan, these sources said, had directed the officers concerned in NAB not to include indirect or doubtful recoveries and show only what was really received. Sultan had reportedly also asked not to mention indirect recoveries in the annual report of the Bureau.

The sources said that with the settlement of Karkey Rental Power fine of $1.2 billion, which was imposed by the International Court for Settlement of Investment Dispute, the NAB in its files included Rs192 billion recovery in May 2020 when the currency rate in open market was one US dollar was equal to Rs160. Interestingly, Imran Khan government rewarded three officers including (i) Ahmad Irfan Aslam, Consultant/Head of International Dispute Unit, Office of the Attorney General for Pakistan; (ii) Brig Rana Arfan Shakeel Ramay, Sector Commander, ISI and; (ii) Col Farooq Shahbaz, ISI, for this but the NAB claimed it as its own success.

According to a NAB document, Karkey went into arbitration against the government of Pakistan and subsequently won the case in the International Court for Settlement of Investment Dispute and award was announced in favour of Karkey. The liability against the government of Pakistan reached $1.2 billion. However, IO (investigation officer of NAB) during a raid at the house of an accused from AJK got details of his foreign assets and offshore company, which was the direct evidence of kickbacks against Karkey.

The NAB document added that this evidence at last led to withdrawal of the Karkey case against the government of Pakistan. The NAB also claimed that following the work of the NAB’s IO, Karkey approached the government of Pakistan at the highest level and requested for an out of court settlement. After several rounds, as per the NAB claim, the settlement was reached leading to savings of $1.2 billion. In another case, the NAB added the recovery of Rs73 billion. It claims that its investigation against a former chairman and others for illegal award of Next Generation Mobile Service to a private telecom led to recovery of Rs73 billion.

According to a NAB document, as a result of NAB’s cognizance and emphasis for charging current market price as basic price instead of the old licence of $291 million of auction 2004. The Bureau’s recoveries file claim that PTA and Ministry of IT charged current market price of $449 million for renewal of licence to some mobile companies in May 2019.

It added, “Previously, all suction of spectrum and renewal of licences from 2004 till 2017 was charged $291 million as base price resulting thereby an indirect recovery of $316 million.” It added the currency rate on 21-10-2019 in the open market was 1$= Rs 155. “The same has been converted into Pak rupee which is Rs73872.9 million.”

Interestingly, the penalty imposed by the Supreme Court in a housing society case also became the credit for the NAB. The housing society influence on NAB and it’s then chairman was known to all and sundry but the Bureau’s recoveries file claim that the Supreme Court had imposed penalty on the housing society on the basis of NAB probe. It says that after intervention of NAB, it all happened but not even once housing society’s top management was summoned by the Bureau in the case.

The NAB recoveries’ file say that in compliance with the SC order, the housing society paid Rs52 billion till June 2020 and an amount of Rs5.4 billion has been earned by way of markup. It is reflected as NAB’s recovery. In another case, a settlement between a private housing scheme and its affected people through a court order was also reflected as NAB’s recovery of Rs16 billion.

According to a source, the NAB once also claimed recovery of Rs41 billion in One Hyde Park case. During Imran Khan’s tenure, the finance ministry had disclosed that the NAB recovered and deposited only Rs6.5 billion in the kitty since its inception. The finance ministry’s statement gave a serious blow to the anti-corruption watchdog’s claim of recovering over Rs821 billion.

The actual amount that NAB recovered and deposited in the federal consolidated fund was just Rs6.5 billion, Tanvir Butt, the additional secretary budget, had informed the Senate Standing Committee on Finance.

Out of the Rs6.5 billion, the recoveries during the period of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government (2018-19 till September 2021) were mere Rs1.4 billion or 21.5 percent of the total recoveries, according to documents submitted by the additional secretary budget.

A NAB official, when contacted, justified the recoveries claim and insisted that any savings that is the consequence of NAB action but does not include direct recoveries fall in the category of indirect recoveries. He explained that many a times following iniitiarion of NAB inquiries the government department correct their wrong and the possible loss is saved. It goes to NAB’s credit, he said.