ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has sought statement of former federal commerce minister Makhdoom Amin Fahim about his alleged role in the National Insurance Company Limited (NICL) scam, NAB sources told Dawn on Thursday.

They said a questionnaire has been sent to Mr Fahim, who is out of the country nowadays.

A lawyer of the PPP leader has contacted the NAB and informed it that his client is out of the country and he would soon reply to the NAB’s questionnaire.

When contacted, NAB spokesperson Ramzan Sajid said that Mr Fahim was summoned by NAB investigators but due to his absence from the country he was sent the questionnaire. “The questionnaire was sent to Makhdoom Amin Fahim because his statement is required for investigation,” the spokesperson said.

Mr Fahim was accused of receiving more than Rs20 million in the NICL scam. However, he got pre-arrest bail on Dec 4.

The PPP leader has also been accused of having a role in the purchase of a piece of land at a high price which caused a huge loss to the nation exchequer in 2009 when he was federal commerce minister.

The investigation against him and other NICL directors was initiated on the directives of the Supreme Court.

The former minister was also allegedly involved in the controversial appointment of Mohammad Ayaz Khan Niazi as NICL chairman, the man who allegedly purchased 10 acres in Korangi at a high price.

The NICL scam was detected after Ayaz Khan Niazi, thought to be associated with the minister, became the chairman of the company. Officials complain that one of the first steps Mr Niazi took was to dole out Rs4 billion of NICL money to different private companies, mostly owned by friends in Lahore and Dubai, ostensibly to buy land from them, albeit at rates much higher than the market price.

Meanwhile, NAB Chairman Qamar Zaman Chaudhry, who is also being investigated in the NICL scam, appeared before an investigation team on Thursday for the second time, the sources said.