KARACHI, Nov 29: An accountability court deferred on Thursday judgments in three references involving two former chiefs of the National Development Finance Corporation till Dec 12.
The judge rescheduled the pronouncement of judgments as Co Abdul Mateen (retd), an accused in all the three references (34, 35 and 36 of 2000), did not appear in the court.
The judge issued notice to accused Mateen, who is on bail, to appear in the court at the time of the pronouncement of judgment.
The three references pertained to the default on the payment of loans, secured by Northern Polyethylene Ltd (NPL) from the NDFC in violation of rules and regulations.
Former chief of the NDFC, M. B. Abbasi, was absconding in the reference No 34/2000, which pertained to the default on the payment of a Rs20-million loan.
Besides Abbasi, Intikhab Ali, Asghar Abbas, Syed Aftab Ali Khan, Mrs Mubarik Salman Siddiqui, Syed Afzal Husain and Younus Niazi Mali have been declared absconders.
The NPL had applied to the NDFC for financial facilities for setting up the polyethylene plant in 1995-1996 when M. B. Abbasi was its chief. The firm was allegedly sanctioned Rs20m in violation of rules and regulations.
Chaudhry Mohammed Munawwar, another former chief of the NDFC, was accused in the references Nos 35 and 36/2000, pertaining to the defaulted loans amounting to Rs82m.
The former chief of the NDFC was charged for sanctioning two financial facilities, amounting to Rs40m and Rs42m, respectively, to the NPL in violation of rules and regulations.
The Commercial Banks Circle of the Federal Investigation Agency registered the cases against the former chiefs of the NDFC and the directors of the NPL.
The FIA submitted three separate chargesheets against the accused in the special court for offences in banks.
Later, Munawwar was bailed out, and Abbasi was released on parole in 1998 by the Sindh government for two months.
His parole had been extended till he was granted a “one-time” permission on August 19, 199 by the federal government to travel abroad. He immediately left the country, and since then he has been absconding.
JUDGMENT RESERVED: The AC-1, headed by Judge Dr Qamaruddin Bohra, reserved till Dec 4 the judgment in a corruption reference against Rauf B. Qadri, a former chief of the Bankers’ Equity.
