KARACHI: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Karachi, on Thursday decided to initiate investigations against a former Sindh Assembly speaker on charges of accumulating assets beyond known sources, illegal recruitments and embezzlement of funds.

NAB also decided to initiate a probe against the Karachi mayor, director general of the Sindh Building Control Authority, a known builder, SITE officials and a senior police officer for alleged corruption in development work, cheating the public, accumulating assets beyond known sources, embezzlement of funds and illegal recruitment of policemen, respectively, according to a NAB spokesperson.

A regional board meeting of NAB was held here under the chairmanship of its director general in Karachi, Mohammad Altaf Bawany. The meeting was attended by the directors of the investigation wings and respective investigating teams of the cases concerned. Various cases were deliberated upon and the meeting decided to initiate a probe into the charges.

KMC did not carry out work against budgeted Rs36 billion and subsequent releases of funds from 2015 to 2018

Ex-speaker Durrani

The NAB spokesperson said that after the completion of a complaint verification process against Agha Siraj Durrani, a former speaker of the Sindh Assembly, a case was deliberated upon by the regional board, which recommended three separate inquiries against him.

One inquiry pertains to allegations of accumulation of assets beyond known sources of income by the former speaker; the second allegation pertains to illegal appointments of 352 candidates; while the third allegation pertains to embezzlement of funds for the construction of an MPA hostel and construction of the new Sindh Assembly building, including appointment of project directors.

“The recommendation was made to the competent authority on the basis of an exhaustive verification of complaints.”

Karachi mayor

Regarding Karachi Mayor Wasim Akhtar, the official said that on the completion of the verification process on a complaint, recommendation was made to the competent authority for authorising a formal inquiry against the mayor of Karachi and officers and officials of the KMC.

“The allegations prima facie verified pertain to the budgeted amount of Rs36 billion and subsequent releases to the KMC from 2015 to 2018 against which allegedly work in Karachi was not carried out worth that amount.”

SBCA DG

On the conclusion of the verification process on a complaint, recommendation was made to the competent authority for allowing a formal inquiry against Iftikhar Qaimkhani, SBCA DG, on the allegations of accumulation of assets beyond known sources of income. A preliminary probe was conducted on the basis of information collected in recent raids, said the NAB official.

Builder

An inquiry was authorised against the management and owners of Pride Builders & Developers, one of the allied companies of Rufi Builders and Developers. An inquiry was authorised on the allegations of cheating the public at large for booking of more than 1,600 residential and commercial plots worth more than Rs5,400 million in the names of several allottees.

However, the building licence and an NOC were cancelled by the SBCA. Despite that, prima facie, they continued to develop and book plots.

“The inquiry was authorised on the basis of complaints lodged by several allottees, who have been cheated.”

Investigations against the managing director and other officials of SITE Karachi, as well as police officer SSP Pir Fareed Jan Sarhandi were also launched.

Published in Dawn, July 20th, 2018