ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) spent about Rs5 million to bring back former chairman of the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) to Pakistan.

“We spent no more than Rs5 million to bring accused Tauqeer Sadiq back to the country. This includes travelling and lodging expenses of officers,” a senior NAB official told Dawn on Wednesday on condition of anonymity.

The official said the Supreme Court, which is hearing the case about controversial appointment of Tauqeer Sadiq as Ogra chairman, had also been informed about the expenses incurred on bringing the accused back to Pakistan.

Tauqeer Sadiq was arrested by Abu Dhabi police on the intervention of Interpol and was brought back to the country on July 9.

An accountability court handed him over to NAB on a 14-day physical remand which ends on July 23.

The NAB team visited Abu Dhabi several times since the arrest of Mr Sadiq in January this year in the UAE.

One of the investigators told Dawn of bitter experience during their stay in Abu Dhabi.

He said while the team was authorised to bring back the fugitive to Pakistan, some FIA officers also reached the UAE for the same purpose without prior intimation to the team apparently on the directive of former interior minister Rehman Malik to disrupt Tauqeer Sadiq’s deportation process.

The official claimed that Pakistan embassy in Dubai did not cooperate with the NAB team and used delaying tactics for completing formalities necessary for extradition of the accused to Pakistan.

The then NAB chairman retired Admiral Fasih Bokhari was apprised of the situation and he directed investigation officer Waqas Ahmed Khan through NAB’s Rawalpindi director general to convey to the ambassador that he should make all-out efforts to help deport the accused otherwise the ambassador would be proceeded against under the NAB law.

The NAB team was informed through the embassy on Feb 2 this year that another team of Interpol Islamabad comprising Additional Director Shuja Naveed and Assistant Director Usman Ahmed (an official from Nadra on deputation in FIA) had reached Abu Dhabi and was making parallel efforts.

Suddenly on Feb 28 it was revealed to the team that Tauqeer Sadiq had been taken to Nayabbah (Prosecution Department of the UAE) and his detention period had been extended for 10 more days.

The visiting Interpol (FIA) team was called to the Pakistan embassy for a meeting with visiting NAB team and it was revealed during the meeting that on Jan 10 this year Interpol Islamabad had written a letter to Interpol Abu Dhabi seeking arrest of Shahrukh Jatoi and Tauqeer Sadiq in connection with a murder case.