ISLAMABAD: The Combined Investigation Team (CIT) of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) cross-examined and recorded a statement of Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Tuesday in the fake bank accounts and money laundering case.

This was the second time that Mr Shah appeared before the CIT. Earlier, he appeared before the NAB team on March 25 when he was given a questionnaire to fill out and submit to the team on his second appearance before it.

The CIT has been conducting investigations under the direct supervision of the NAB chairman.

According to NAB sources, Mr Shah had been summoned with regard to investigations pertaining to the Thatta and Dadu sugar mills in the light of a report of the Joint Investigation Team formed by the Supreme Court last year to investigate multi-billion-rupee money laundering and fake bank accounts case against top leaders of the PPP.

The case was recently shifted from Karachi to NAB’s Rawalpindi office, headed by its Director General Irfan Naeem Mangi. Mr Mangi was one of the members of the Joint Investigation Team (JIT).

According to the JIT report, the Sindh government-owned Thatta Sugar Mills was sold to the Omni Group for Rs127.5 million in 2013 though its market price was then around Rs716.11m. The Dadu Sugar Mills, also a property of the Sindh government, was sold to the same group in 2008 for Rs90m against its market price of Rs626.70m, said the report.

Meanwhile, talking to reporters outside the NAB office, Mr Shah said he had replied to all the questions put to him by NAB in the questionnaire.

He said that NAB should send questionnaires to female members of the Zardari family allegedly involved in the case as a similar method of investigation was adopted by NAB against women members of the Sharif family during investigation of different cases against the family.

Published in Dawn, April 17th, 2019