ISLAMABAD, July 16: The National Accountability Bureau has asked real estate magnate Malik Riaz to appear before a Joint Investigation Team on July 19 in connection with the Arsalan Iftikhar graft case.

The bureau turned down a request of Malik Riaz to appear before the JIT next week.

According to a NAB spokesman, Malik Riaz requested the NAB’s Joint Investigation Team investigating the Arsalan Iftikhar-Malik Riaz case for the new date of appearance before the JIT next week as he had to appear before the Supreme Court on Monday in connection with the contempt of court proceedings.

“However, NAB refused to entertain his request and issued a new summon for his appearance on July 19 at 5pm,” the spokesman said on Monday.

The JIT will cross-examine Malik Riaz for details of his allegations levelled against Arsalan Iftikhar, the son of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, in the graft case.

The JIT has obtained relevant record from various agencies on the Arsalan Iftikhar case and more evidence is likely in the next two days.

The information was being collected under provisions of the National Accountability Ordinance 1999, the NAB spokesman said.

Notices under section 19 have also been issued to different banks and financial institutions for obtaining information and record on transactions and accounts of alleged beneficiaries.

The JIT may also examine the case from the money-laundering perspective.

According to section 20 of the NAB Ordinance suspicious financial transactions fell within NAB’s domain and make it mandatory for banks to report such transactions.

“The JIT has reasons to suspect that transactions subject matter of present inquiry involve an international dimension necessitating probe of bank accounts in UAE, UK and offshore banking systems,” the spokesman said.

The JIT has also finalised a procedure for recording statements of people privy to facts and circumstances of the case who are either not residents of Pakistan or are foreign nationals.

DOUBLE SHAH SCAM: In the Double Shah scam, the NAB’s Punjab bureau had distributed Rs46.3 million among 192 victims hit by the scandal.

The main character in the scam, Syed Sibtul Hassan Gillani, commonly known as the Double Shah, was convicted by an accountability court and sentenced for 14 years’ imprisonment with fine of Rs5.43 billion and confiscation of his all property.