News
Monday, April 12, 2010
SC resumes hearing of $1bn LNG scam todayBy Masood Rehman
ISLAMABD: The Supreme Court would resume today (Monday) the hearing of a $1 billion scam in the purchase of liquefied natural gas (LNG).
A three-member bench of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Chaudhry Ijaz Ahmed and Justice Ghulam Rabbani is hearin the case. The chief justice took suo motu notice of the matter on April 1 over a news report titled ‘$1 billion LNG scam lands in federal cabinet’.
The petroleum secretary, finance secretaries of the Fauji Foundation and multinational energy firm VITOL and the reporter who broke the story are scheduled to appear in court on notice.
The last hearing was adjourned after the reporter who broke the news filed evidence. He disclosed how senior Petroleum Ministry officials awarded a multibillion-dollar contract for the import of 3.5 million tonnes of LNG to a French firm while ignoring the lowest bid jointly put forward by the Fauji Foundation and VITOL.
According to the report, then finance minister Shaukat Tareen has confirmed a loss of around $1 billion in the deal, and said he was not given the entire details of the deal by the Petroleum Ministry at the time of the Economic Coordination Committee’s approval.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk