News
Saturday, November 23, 2013
SC orders action against NAB chief, Amin Faheem* SC declares appointment of NICL chairman as non-transparent, illegal and unwarranted
* NAB chief goes on ‘indefinite leave’
ISLAMABAD: Issuing a verdict in the multi-billion-rupee National Insurance Company Limited (NICL) scam case, the Supreme Court (SC) on Friday ordered action case against National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman Qamar Zaman Chaudhry and former commerce minister Makhdoom Amin Fahim.
A three-judge bench of the court, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, issued the 52-page ruling which also declared illegal the appointment of Ayaz Khan Niazi as chairman of NICL. The court also ruled that the money in question be recovered as quickly as possible.
The judgement added that former interior secretary Qamar Zaman Chaudhry and federal tax ombudsman Abdul Rauf Chaudhry had tried to obstruct the decision.
The court has also ordered that proceedings be initiated against former commerce minister Makhdoom Amin Fahim and former commerce secretary Salman Ghani.
Moreover, the ruling also said that proceedings be started against former establishment secretary Ismail Qureshi, former cabinet secretary Nargis Sethi, former principal secretary to the prime minister Khushnood Lashari, former director of NICL Amin Qasim Dada, an accused in the case, Mohsin Habib Warraich, and former Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) director general Malik Muhammad Iqbal.
The court added that Zafar Ahmad Qureshi, who was associated with FIA at the time of probe into the scam, was deliberately kept away from investigation in an attempt to obstruct justice.
The bench ordered initiation of proceedings against the abovementioned people under Section 9(a)(vi) of the NAB ordinance. This section refers to “misuse” of authority “so as to gain any benefit or favour” for oneself or for any other person, or “to render or attempt to do so”.
Meanwhile, Qamar Zaman Chaudhry has gone on leave for an indefinite period. He applied for leave hours after the SC ordered registration of a case against him.
A NAB spokesman, Ramzan Sajid, confirmed that the NAB chief has taken leave. However, he did not mention the time period of leave.
The news of corruption in NICL first came to light when Ayaz Khan Niazi, four other officials of the company and their accomplices were charged with violating rules in the procurement of 10 acres in a Korangi area which caused huge financial losses to the national exchequer.
The prosecution at an anti-corruption court at the time said that then secretary of the Ministry of Commerce, Zafar Mehmood, had sent a written complaint to the FIA on November 16, 2010 in which he requested to probe all purchases of land at various places and on different times by NICL. It was further requested to register a separate case regarding the prima facie embezzlement of NICL funds in the transaction of 10 acres purchased in August 2009 in a Korangi area against the amount of Rs 90 million per acre, which allegedly caused huge losses to the exchequer.
The chairman, board of directors, investment committee of the NICL, sellers, valuators and others with the connivance of each other committed offences of criminal breach of trust, misconduct, forgery and cheating, it was told. agencies
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk