Daily Times

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Monday filed another reference in an accountability court against high-profile suspects, including two former prime ministers and a former president.

The NAB has named former president Asif Ali Zardari, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani as suspects in the Toshakhana case, a private TV channel reported. Khawaja Anwar Majeed and Khawaja Abdul Ghani Majeed, the owners of the Omni Group, have also been named as suspects in the reference.

According to the reference, Gilani, in order to extend illegal benefit to Zardari and Nawaz, allowed the retention of vehicles gifted to them by different foreign states and dignitaries by relaxing procedures relating to submission of gifts in the Toshakhana. “The accused through dishonest and illegal means for their personal benefit and interest retained the vehicles in question against a nominal payment of 15 per cent of the total value,” the reference stated. It added that Zardari made the payments for the vehicles through the Omni Group CEO and his son “for which he has no plausible justification.”

“It was established during investigation that these amounts are in the context of illegitimate laundered proceeds for the benefit of the accused,” the reference read. It maintained that Gilani, in connivance with Zardari and Nawaz, “dishonestly and illegally relaxed the procedure for the acceptance and disposal of gifts […] which stipulate that vehicles shall not be allowed to be purchased by the recipients”.

“The accused [Gilani] floated and suppressed the law and the procedure to grant undue concession, and benefits resulting in wrongful loss to the national exchequer,” the reference added.

According to the reference, during his tenure as president of Pakistan, Zardari accepted and received vehicles as gifts from the United Arab Emirates in 2005 and from Libya in 2008. “He neither reported the gifted vehicles nor deposited the same. The accused preferred his own personal interests and obtained undue concession and benefits,” it added.

Meanwhile, the reference maintained that Nawaz, who did not hold any public office in 2008, “knowingly and with dishonest intention obtained illegal favour in connivance with Gilani by obtaining the relaxation of the said procedure for acceptance and disposal of gifts”.

Meanwhile, an accountability court on Monday endorsed seizure of former president Asif Ali Zardari’s house in Karachi’s Clifton area.

The NAB, after seizing Zardari’s house on February 12, had sought confirmation from the accountability court. The house was bought in 2014 and the payment was made through joint accounts from the corruption money, the NAB prosecutor said in his arguments in the court.

The court, accepting the NAB plea, gave confirmation to seize the house of former president and also ordered to provide copy of the order to the accused [Asif Ali Zardari]. “The affected party can contact the court, if they want to,” the court order read.

In an important development, the NAB on Monday unearthed a benami property of Abdul Ghani Majeed, one of the main accused in fake bank accounts reference.

As per details, the NAB has uncovered benami property of Abdul Ghani Majeed situated in Karachi’s Cantonment area. The anti-graft watchdog body has decided to seize the plot measuring 5,145 square yards. In this context, the NAB Rawalpindi has moved the accountability court for the seizure of plot.

Also on Monday, NAB filed a reference against alleged corruption in the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP). The NAB Rawalpindi bureau filed the reference against BISP former chairperson Farzana Raja and other accused.

The reference comprising 32 volumes has been sent to the Registrar Office for scrutiny, in which overall 19 persons have been made party.

The NAB Executive Board had approved the filing of the reference against Raja and others in a meeting held in December last year.