KARACHI, Aug 28: An Accountability Court convicted on Thursday three drug controllers of the Federal Drugs Control Administration in seven corruption cases and sentenced them to a four-year term in each reference.

Judge Mrs Qaiser Iqbal of the AC-1 also imposed a fine of Rs3 million each in each case on Dr Mohammed Tanveer Alam, Rehmatullah Baig and Abdul Sami Mangrio, who issued consumption certificates to a pharmaceutical firm to achieve personal gains and caused huge losses to the national exchequer.

The FDCA officials were arrested on July 3 by the National Accountability Bureau for committing malpractices and corruption in the issuance of “consumption certificates” to a Tando Adam- based pharmaceutical firm, Ahson Drug Company.

During the course of the investigation, the chief executive of the pharmaceutical firm, Abdul Hamid, moved a bargaining plea to the NAB chairman and returned Rs60 million he had attained in the racket. Subsequently, the NAB withdrew legal proceedings against him.

The pharmaceutical firm imported a huge quantity of different raw materials on the pretext of their use in the manufacturing of pharmaceutical finished products on concessional duties and without sales tax under the provision of government rules.

However, instead of using the imported raw materials for pharmaceutical use, the firm sold them in the open market “for achieving wrongful gains to themselves”.

The accused drug controllers issued the consumption certificates to the firm and committed misappropriation of huge amounts of duty drawback/refunds from the customs authorities.

The acting deputy director of the assets branch of the Federal Investigation Agency, Khaliquz Zaman, was assigned investigation of the case by the authorities under section 18 (c) of the National Accountability Bureau Ordinance.

The three convicts, all grade-19 officers of the federal health ministry, will have to undergo an additional six-month term in case of default on the payment of fine in all seven references.

Earlier, the then administrative judge, Mr Rahmat Hussain Jafferi, had convicted the accused and sentenced them to a five- year term.

The convicts moved appeals in the Sindh High Court against their conviction. The SHC set aside the conviction and remanded the case back for re-trial.