LAHORE, Nov 10: An accountability court on Thursday started proceedings to declare two co-accused proclaimed offenders in a reference, which charges five officials of the government treasury in Lahore with appropriating around Rs60 million on account of general provident fund and pension of retired public servants.

Mushtaq and another co-accused are facing the charges that the treasury officials opened bogus bank accounts in their name to appropriate money between 1996 and 2000.

The principal accused in the reference is Mumshad Nadeem, a sub-accountant in the treasury, who is alleged to have masterminded the plan of embezzling the GPF and pensions of government officials who filed their claims for payment of their post-retirement dues.

Mumshad has committed fraud with the connivance of other treasury officials — Amanullah Khan, Sheikh Javed Hassan, Muhammad Ishaq and Muhammad Arif. They were arrested last month after the reference was filed against them by the NAB.

The fraud was unearthed in 2004 after which the State Bank of Pakistan initiated investigation. The probe found the five officials and two co-accused responsible for the fraud and the SBP handed over the case to the NAB to prepare a reference, which was filed in October this year. The police, however, failed to arrest Mushtaq and another co-accused and the accountability court started proceedings in declaring them proclaimed offenders. However, the other four accused have pleaded not guilty and their counsel, Advocate Manzoor Ahmad Malik, stated that Amanullah, Sheikh Javed, Ishaq and Arif were involved in the fraud by Mumshad Nadeem by securing their signatures on formal monthly statements which were sent to the central bank as a routine working.

The counsel stated that the accused signed the statements without knowing because the principal accused concealed from them the nature of statements.

The court adjourned further proceedings in the reference till Nov 22.

SETH NISAR: The same court adjourned till Nov 22 the proceedings on a few references against Seth Nisar Ahmad, honorary consul of Kazakhstan in Lahore, who is facing charges of tax and duty evasion.