Daily Times

Sindh High Court (SHC), on Saturday, adjourned its verdict on an inquiry petition by the accountability watchdog against former Pakistani ambassador in the US, Ali Jehangir Siddiqui.

The ex-envoy’s counsel, Khalid Javed Khan, argued before the court that the NAB did not have any jurisdiction to investigate any issue related to stocks.

The NAB counsel, however, claimed that the accused had sold shares on inflated rates, a decision that cost Rs. 40 billion to government entities.

The shares were sold through Azgard Nine company, NAB prosecutor further argued.

The court reserved its verdict after hearing arguments from both sides.

Sources relayed that NAB Chairman, Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal, recently decided to transform the inquiry against Siddiqui into an investigation in a meeting of the NAB board. The former ambassador was earlier summoned to defend before the bureau the alleged role of his company, M/s Azgard Nine Limited (ANL), in the manipulation of the said shares that caused losses worth billions of rupees to the national exchequer.

The accountability watchdog is investigating the affairs of the company with regard to syphoning off funds to the tune of 23.7 million euros in 2008, which were used to purchase an Italian Company, Monte Bello SRL.

The NAB contended that the shares of a company, Agritech Limited, were sold to various financial and government institutions at a rate higher than the one prevailing in the market, to settle loan defaults. This was said to have led to losses worth Rs 40 billion to a number of financial and government institutions.

Published in Daily Times, March 10^th 2019.