ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Thursday approved filing of two separate references of over Rs300 million, and closed a case regarding alleged corruption of Rs49 billion in the Rawalpindi Metro Bus Project.

A spokesman for the bureau said an Executive Board Meeting (EBM), presided over by NAB chairman Qamar Zaman Chaudhry, decided to file two corruption references. The first reference is against private contractors Zia Pervaz Hussain and others for misappropriation of $2.168m by obtaining award of contract of five helicopters from the Cabinet Division through a bogus firm called Cuxhaven of Denmark.

The second reference will be filed against Raja Muhammad Ikram-ul-Haq, ex-secretary/director general of the Pakistan Post Office Department and others for inflicting a loss of Rs100m on the national exchequer by committing corruption and fraud in a housing scheme on Kurri Road, Islamabad, and violating the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority rules by awarding the contract to a firm called Telconet.

The NAB spokesman said the meeting closed down a case being investigated against officers of the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) for alleged corruption in the metro bus project.

“The EBM decided to close two inquiries. First one is an inquiry against officers of the RDA and others in the Metro Project lifts and escalators case and the second one is against officers of the Pakistan Agriculture Supp­lies Services Company and others that has been closed due to lack of incriminating evidence,” he said.

Interestingly, the project has been closed at the investigation stage. NAB usually closes cases at the inquiry stage; when it finds something credible in the inquiry stage the case is sent for second stage of investigation.

During its investigation, NAB had written a letter to the State Bank of Pakistan for details of bank accounts of ruling party leader Hanif Abbasi, Commissioner Zahid Saeed and District Coordination Officer Sajid Zafar.

However, the outcome of the investigation against these persons was not disclosed to the media.

It was alleged in the complaint, filed almost a year ago, that inferior quality elevators had been procured at an exorbitant price and against the Pakistan Engineering Council criteria for pre-qualification of firms.

The meeting authorised three investigations — against Iftikhar Qaimkhani, ex-chief of the Karachi Development Authority and others for misuse of authority and illegal conversion and amalgamation of street/walkways in Sea Shell Stalls Plots causing a loss of Rs2bn.

Another investigation was authorised against Dr Josphen Wilson, ex-acting chairman of the Competition Commission of Pakistan and others for causing loss of Rs10.22m by way of corruption, corrupt practices and misuse of authority.

In the third case, investigation will be conducted against authorities of the Peshawar Electric Power Company, Quetta Electric Supply Company and others for illegal appointments made in Qesco in different categories from BS-1 to BS-16 in 2008-10.

The EBM decided to authorise two inquiries — the first against Parveen Naeem Shah, vice chancellor of the Shah Abdul Latif University, Khairpur, and others for accumulation of assets beyond known sources of income and misuse of authority and the second against a private firm Silver Line Spinning Mills Bahawalpur Road, Lodhran, for wilful default of Rs417m from the United Bank Limited regarding suspicious transaction referred by the Financial Monitoring Unit, State Bank of Pakistan.

The meeting rejected Voluntary Return request of officers/officials of Sindh Police, Attorney General Office Sindh Karachi and others on the allegation of embezzlement of budget of Sindh Police.

Published in Dawn, December 9th, 2016