Rs360m paid to dig Bhutto family’s accounts

ISLAMABAD: Not only Broadsheet, the National Accountability Bureau also quietly paid a sum of $2.25 million (Rs360 million) to yet another asset recovery firm that was hired to dig out details of the late Benazir Bhutto, her spouse Asif Ali Zardari and others after NAB prematurely terminated contract with it.

In 2000, when M/S Broadsheet LLC was hired to go after 200 target individuals, M/S International Assets Recovery (IAR) was contracted to look for the fortune of the Bhutto family that, NAB suspected, was stashed in different secret jurisdictions of the world. However, NAB broke with both the firms in 2003 without following due process of termination that resulted in efforts to pre-empt litigation through settlement agreements.

While NAB entered into a settlement of $1.5 million for Broadsheet with a person who wasn’t legally authorised to negotiate a truce, a separate $2.25 million was paid to IAR under a settlement agreement which NAB never disclosed. The fact became known only when Sir Anthony Evans, the judge in the Broadsheet arbitration case, made this disclosure part of the record. “In addition to US$1,500,000 paid to or to order of Mr. James under the Settlement Agreement [with Broadsheet], NAB paid US$2,250,000 in settlement of the claims by IAR, also in about 2008,” his verdict reads.

Since the arbitration case was not related to IAR, there is no detail available whether this settlement yielded any result or turned-out counterproductive much like Broadsheet’s settlement with Jerry James of $1.5 million which went unaccounted and the authorised representative of the firm launched a legal battle ending at Pakistan to pay around another $29 million. However, taking the arbitration judge’s word as a guide, IAR was being represented by the former associates of James.

“In April 2007, when Broadsheet (IoM) was formally dissolved, negotiations were in progress between NAB, represented by their lawyer, Mr. [Ahmed Bilal] Soofi, and Mr. James’s former associates representing another company, IAR, which had made an agreement similar to the ARA (but relating to other parts of the World) in 2000 at about the same time as he entered into the ARA on behalf of Broadsheet,” excerpt from his verdict reads. However, he also mentioned that James used to represent IAR as well in its claims against NAB for some time in the early years after the termination of agreements.

A NAB official who dealt with the matter said initially the contract of all targets was assigned to Broadsheet LLC, however, a new firm was registered (IAR) later to exclusively deal with the Bhutto family. There is no information available on what IAR provided against the registered targets to NAB and what formed the basis for the termination of contract.

However, the copy of agreement signed with Broadsheet is available with The News which required the firm to help in the recovery of assets stolen through corrupt practices. The selection of target individuals, according to that agreement, was at the discretion of Chairman NAB, Lt. Gen. (R) Amjad who held this position when the names were shared with Broadsheet LLC. The NAB was required under this agreement to “ensure confidentiality and non-disclosure of methods and resources employed by Broadsheet to locate, seize and recover such assets.”

As for the monetary compensation is concerned, Broadsheet would receive 20% of the money recovered from the target individuals no matter the tracing of assets was an outcome of NAB efforts or Broadsheet. The asset recovery firm, in international arbitration, accused NAB of breaching the agreement and unlawful termination. That NAB has quietly dealt with several target individuals about whom the information was shared, was the basic charge of Broadsheet that said it spent hefty money but was paid only a little amount by NAB.

Gen Pervez Musharraf wanted to improve financial integrity when the agreement was made but “unfortunately, the political winds quickly shifted and by late 2000 this anti-corruption crusade was beginning to retreat as part of a backlash from the reforms,” Broadsheet argued before Sir Anthony, the judge at Chartered Institute of Arbitrator in London.

The founding NAB Chairman, Lt Gen (R) Syed Amjad and the first prosecutor general, Farouk Adam Khan had resigned “due to unacceptable prevailing circumstances as NAB’s mission shifted from recovery of assets to the rehabilitation of the corrupt targets who then re-emerged as powerful figures in Pakistani politics.”

The NAB entered into settlements and plea bargains with numerous targets, the firm had alleged, without either notifying or paying Broadsheet its fee for the targets. In one instance, Broadsheet froze approximately $5 million in the Isle of Jersey “belonging to an identified target” but NAB stopped pursuing the case. In another instance, the NAB reached a settlement directly with a target allegedly valued at $25 million but refused to pay Broadsheet (IOM) its commission as per the Agreement, the company alleged. For all of its work over several years, Broadsheet (IOM) was paid only one small fee in connection with a recovery from Admiral Mansour-ul-Haq, one of the listed targets, and the amount paid likely was less than it should have been under the terms of the Agreement, Broadsheet complained.

The current NAB administration has distanced itself from the agreement with Broadsheet. A NAB Spokesperson repeated its version saying that the Bureau was an independent organisation working for the wellbeing of the state, the protection of it resources through eradication of corruption. NAB has followed due process and all Pakistani laws and will defend its actions in all relevant forums.