LAHORE: The National Accountability Bureau has recovered Rs750 million in the Bank of Punjab scam.

NAB Lahore Director General Shahzad Saleem on Thursday handed over the amount cheque to an official of BoP.

The bureau said billions of rupees were embezzled through alleged connivance of former BoP president Hamesh Khan, CEO of Harris Steels Industries Sheikh Muhammad Afzal and others.

According to the NAB, in 2008, the bureau filed an interim reference in the accountability court and in 2009 during the course of inquiry, Sheikh Afzal and Harris Afzal were arrested by NAB from Malaysia.

Simultaneously, numerous foreign and local properties belonging to the accused persons were secured by NAB. Later, it said final corruption reference was filed in 2012 after completing the inquiry proceedings.

“In 2012, a fresh inquiry was authorised which was upgraded into investigation that proceeded into filing of another corruption reference in the accountability court during 2016. Moreover, NAB has [so far] recovered Rs7.5bn from suspects in this case,” it said.

Shahzad Saleem said NAB was working in accordance with the vision of its chairman. “Every single looted penny will be recovered from corrupt elements. NAB has adopted an approach of ‘accountability for all’.”

Published in Dawn, February 1st, 2019