February 05, 2008	Tuesday	Muharram 26, 1429

KARACHI, Feb 4: The National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) has terminated its officers allegedly involved in money laundering in France and it has received a clean chit from the Central Bank of France.

NBP President Ali Raza told Dawn on Monday that the latest story about the involvement of his bank in money laundering was an old case.

A news agency reported on Monday that the NBP, along with four other large banks, was involved in the money laundering case with Israel.

“We have already terminated four officers of the Paris branch. There was sufficient evidence to prove their wrongdoings,” said Ali Raza, adding that it was an individual act.

According to the report, four banks, including Societe Generale, its chairman Daniel Bouton and 137 other people, are on trial over the multi-billion dollar scam that allegedly began in the late 1990s.

“The NBP has a small branch in France while the others are giant banks which are facing allegations of money laundering with Israel,” he said. The other banks include Societe Marseillaise de Credit and Barclays France.

He said the hearing had just started after a gap of three years while things were normal for the NBP in France.

“An inspection team of the Central Bank of France visits NBP every year as part of a regular practice and we never received any problem from it,” said Ali Raza.

The NBP is one of the largest banks of the country having very high rating in the capital market. Any involvement of its officials in such activities could put its reputation at stake while it might be a setback to the booming banking industry in Pakistan.