LAHORE: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has closed a six-year long inquiry against a former director of the Bank of Punjab for allegedly misusing his position to obtain loan.

The decision to drop the allegation against businessman Gohar Ejaz was made at the bureau’s executive board last week’s meeting.

The NAB inquiry found that neither any illegality was committed nor any State Bank or BoP rule was violated in the process of obtaining the loan for Mr Ejaz’s firm.

The inquiry was launched in 2010 on complaints that four former directors of the BoP had used their position to take loans against the rules.

“The investigators found that no law or rule was violated in case of Mr Ejaz. Inquiry had proved that the State Bank rules and BoP Ordinance did not bar companies of a director of the BoP from doing business with the bank at that time. The rule was amended through the BoP Ordinance one and a half year after Mr Ejaz had completed his term on the board from 2003 to 2008 as nominee director,” an official said, adding inquiry also cleared that all his company loans were paid back as per agreement with markup with no loss to the bank.

“The NAB decision to drop frivolous allegations against Mr Ejaz has vindicated our stance that the case was mala fide,” a spokesman for APTMA said on Sunday.

Published in Dawn, July 18th, 2016