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| May 5, 2006 | Friday | Rabi-us-Sani 6, 1427 |
NAB to refer some cases to provincial establishment
ISLAMABAD, May 4: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has decided to refer all corruption cases of provincial government employees below grade-18 to provincial anti-corruption establishments, the bureau’s Chairman Lt-Gen (retd) Shahid Aziz said on Thursday.
In a meeting with editors of national dailies at NAB Headquarters, Aziz said the decision to reduce the workload of the NAB had been taken to enable it to take cognizance of important cases on a higher priority, avoid random selectivity and to relieve itself of the extra burden of cases having lesser importance.
Shortly after the establishment of the NAB all the cases of provincial anti-corruption departments had been taken by the bureau making these departments redundant.
Similarly, last year two main segments of the FIA, Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes wings were merged into the NAB despite strong opposition from the FIA and the opposition.
The NAB has also decided that cases under inquiry and investigation for the past three years would be closed, except those pended by the chairman and where the accused are at large.
Likewise, under the new policy, cases transferred from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) will be closed under voluntary return and plea bargain deals provided the amount involved does not exceed Rs100,000 and where the amount already stands recovered.
Mr Aziz said the primary focus of the NAB’s operations will be on convictions and the practice of plea bargain and voluntary return was being discouraged as a policy, particularly where holders of public office were involved.
However, plea bargain and voluntary returns would be acceptable generally where large recovery of state money is involved or members of the public were victims of corrupt practices, he said.
The number of complaints filed with the NAB was beyond the capacity to handle and in addition to cases inherited from the defunct Ehtesab Bureau, the bureau also initiated a large number of cases, the chairman stated.
The NAB’s chief said the situation was further aggravated due to merging of the FIA, resulting in a huge backlog.
The meeting was apprised that cases of public office holders and the amount of money involved would be dealt on priority basis.
NON-COOPERATIVE DEPARTMENTS: The bureau is formulating a policy to tackle non-cooperative departments/entities and action will be taken under the relevant provisions of the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO) against those who withhold information or cause hindrances in the investigation and preventive operations of the NAB.
COMPLAINT VERIFICATION CELLS: The NAB has decided to form Complaint Verification Cells (CVC) in each regional bureau for the purpose of receiving, sifting and verifying complaints and those complaints that do not fall within the ambit of the NAO will be forwarded to the relevant agencies.
The timeframe for complaint verification is eight weeks after which the complaints would be either converted into inquiry or recommended for closure by the executive boards.
INSPECTION TEAMS: Under the new operational methodology, Special Inspection Teams (SITs) will be formed to conduct raids and sting operations. On-spot inspections will be carried out in the areas vulnerable to corruption.
EVALUATION OF PUBLIC CONTRACTS: Under the new operational methodology, arrangements for evaluation of public sector contracts involving amounts of Rs50 million have also been worked out. Similarly, leading cases of corruption are being studied to ascertain trends in corrupt practices in order to suggest corrective measures.
REWARD POLICY: The NAB would shortly announce reward policy for the informers who will provide leads with evidence about indulgence of the bureau’s officers in corruption and they will be given rewards up to Rs1 million. The NAB is also contemplating formulating a policy for encouraging investigative reporting and rewarding those who provide evidence that lead to prosecution.
ARREST POLICY: It has been decided that no arrest would be made during inquiry and even at the stage of reference filing, except in cases where there is an apprehension that the accused may abscond or if not arrested the investigation/prosecution will be jeopardized. The arrest of women, minors and senior citizens will be avoided as far as possible.
ECL POLICY: To ensure that an accused does not abscond, the NAB may place on the Exit Control List (ECL) and remove from it, names of such accused persons, through the interior ministry.
The meeting was informed that the NAB gives due consideration to ECL cases and may recommend one-time permission for visits abroad for medical treatment, performance of Umrah and Hajj and even for business purposes. Such requests are finally approved by the ministry of interior.
PREVENTIVE MEASURES: The NAB will start interacting with government departments to identify loopholes, leakage areas in the procedures and irregularities in the flow of money.
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