NAB clears Ahad Cheema in assets case

LAHORE: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Monday granted a clean chit to Adviser to the Prime Minister on Establishment Ahad Cheema in the assets beyond means case, as reported by Geo News.

In a report submitted to an accountability court in Lahore, the anti-corruption watchdog said that the investigations revealed the assets held by the former bureaucrat corresponded with his income.

This was submitted in response to a petition seeking acquittal in the case. The report clarified that the properties built by Cheema’s benamidars were funded from their personal income, and those assets could not be linked to him.

The NAB said that the bank accounts of his relatives are not benami accounts of Ahad Cheema. It said that, according to the re-investigation, Cheema’s total income is Rs213 million, and expenses are Rs131 million.

The anti-corruption watchdog also mentioned that in the re-investigation, Cheema shared his income and profit details with the NAB, demonstrating that his assets aligned with his income. It said that it had verified the record submitted by the former civil servant, which proved to be correct.

The bureau has now requested the court to issue a verdict on Cheema’s acquittal plea based on the law. The NAB had arrested Cheema on February 21, 2018, to investigate the assets beyond means reference and other cases against him. He was released on bail by the Lahore High Court in April 2022. Earlier this month, Cheema, along with former prime minister Shehbaz Sharif and 10 others, was acquitted in the Ashiana-i-Iqbal Housing Scheme reference by a Lahore accountability court.