Shahbaz, sons face fresh NAB reference

By News Desk

ISLAMABAD: National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Chairman Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal has approved filing three corruption cases — among them a reference against opposition leader Shahbaz Sharif and his sons Hamza and Salman for allegedly having assets beyond their known sources of income.

A NAB spokesman on Tuesday said the investigations reportedly revealed that the accused, Shahbaz Sharif and his co-accused family members through their “Benamidars (frontmen)” allegedly accumulated assets disproportionate to their known sources of income to the tune of Rs7.3 billion.

For the said assets, he said, the accused allegedly laundered their disproportionate funds under the garb of foreign remittances or loans, which the NAB found to be “fake/fictitious”. The accused were also alleged to have been operating “Benami” companies held in the name of their employees or associates to “place the proceeds of crimes for their own benefits”.

Likewise, a supplementary reference on a “non-transparent” awarding process of the LNG Terminal-1 contract was approved against former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, his son Abdullah Khaqan Abbasi, and Miftah Ismail, who was the former chairman of Sui Southern Gas Company board.

Others accused in the supplementary reference are Sheikh Imran-ul-Haq, the former chief executive of EETPL (Engro Elengy Terminal Private Ltd) and current managing director of Pakistan State Oil (PSO), Agha Jan Akhtar, the former chairman of Port Qasim Authority, Saeed Ahmed Khan, the former chairman of Ogra, Aamir Naseem, an ex-member Oil of Ogra, Uzma Khan, the ex-chairperson of Ogra, Shahid Islam, the former managing director of PSO, Husain Dawood, chairman of Engro Corporation Limited, Abdul Samad Dawood, director of Engro Corporation Limited and others.

The NAB spokesman said the accused public office holders “misused their authorities in active connivance with each other to give wrongful gains of Rs14.146 billion to EETL/ETPL/ECL in connection with LNG Terminal-1 of EETL and also caused a wrongful loss of Rs7.438 billion (approx) for non-utilisation of unused capacity of 2nd LNG Terminal of PGPL from March, 2015 till September 2019. Hence, a total liability becomes Rs21.584 billion (approx) till September, 2019”.

He added that in this respect, a “further loss to be incurred for next 10 years will amount to Rs47 billion (approx) as the said contract will expire on March, 2029”.

During the period, “unexplained deposits of Rs1.426 billion were allegedly received in the accounts of Abdullah Khaqan Abbasi and Rs1.294 billion was received in the bank accounts of Shahid Khaqan Abbasi during the period from 2013 to 2017, during which the above said LNG Terminal deal was struck”.

The NAB official added that by “concealing the origin of the above said deposits and layering, the accused also committed offence of money laundering”.

A third reference was approved against officers or officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and others regarding alleged corruption and corrupt practices in sale of Embassy of Pakistan at Jakarta, Indonesia.

During the period from 2001 to 2002, Maj-Gen (retd) Syed Mustafa Anwar Hussain, while posted as ambassador of Pakistan to Jakarta, Indonesia sold out the building of Pakistan embassy at Jakarta “at throwaway price through non transparent procedure and without lawful authority”. The NAB spokesperson claimed the accused thereby caused loss of over a million dollars.