March 25, 2008	Tuesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 16, 1429

LAHORE, March 24: The National Accountability Bureau, Punjab, has filed references against two former sales tax and central excise accounts officers and another for fraudulent withdrawal of Rs30.15 million from sales tax proceeds and depositing the same in two private banks.

According to the references, accused Asif Ali Faiz opened two accounts in the fictitious title of AM Export Lahore in Shahrah-i-Quaid-i-Azam branches of Faysal Bank and Standard Chartered Bank and fraudulently declared himself as its sole proprietor.

The accused, in connivance with former sales tax and excise chief accounts officer Zahid Rashid and former assistant to chief accounts officer Tahir Mahmood, received cheques in the name of the firm from the sales tax office by using bogus refund payment orders and deposited the same in the two banks.

He deposited Rs11.59 million with Standard Chartered Bank and Rs18.56 million with Faysal Bank. The accused fraudulently withdrew the amount from Standard Chartered Bank, but the amount was still lying in Faysal Bank.

The reference further reveals that the said refund payment orders with the same numbers were already available in the record of the chief accounts officer and had been duly paid to the respective claimants.