ISLAMABAD, July 18: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has diverted its attention from corruption cases against politicians to embezzlement cases involving bureaucrats and businessmen, it is learnt.

The step is said to be the first taken by the NAB against bureaucrats and businessmen since the appointment of new chairman of the bureau last week.

According to an official press release, red notices in this connection were issued by the secretariat general of the International Crime Police Organisation (Interpol) against seven bureaucrats and businessmen absconding abroad and wanted in cases of corruption, fraud, forgery and criminal breach of trust.

Those who received the red notices are: Nasir Javed Bhatti, Raja Mohammad Sadiq, Arbab Ali Khan, Mohammad Jawed Qadir Tawakal, Mohammad Sohail Tawakal, Sami Mohammad Yaqoob and Faisal Yaqoob.

The NAB chairman also issued warrants of arrest against the accused.

The press release said that Nasir Javed Bhatti, a director of the Pakistan Telecom Limited, had been involved in making fake purchases.

He allegedly misappropriated the funds with the assistance of subordinates and also facilitated other officials to embezzle the funds.

The accused fled the country in May 2001.

According to the NAB, one Raja Mohammad Saqib allegedly misappropriated an amount of Rs9.937 billion.

The contents of his accounts and property were not commensurate with his known source of income.

Accused Arbab Ali Khan in his capacity as chief executive officer of the Islamabad Stock Exchange deprived people of Rs44 million in 2004.

The NAB informed that Mohammad Jawaid Qadir Tawakkal as one of the directors of the Tawakkal Group of companies obtained various financial facilities from different branches of the National Bank of Pakistan on the basis of a letter of credit issued by a foreign bank (EMTBC) on behalf of a foreign import firm.

The goods in respect of which the credit facilities were taken were not exported and the credit was not repaid.

Another accused Mohammad Sohail Tawakkal also a director of the Tawakkal Group of Companies, in complicity with others, embezzled Rs652,636 million.

In 1994, he tendered 13 bogus export bills at the Allied Bank of Pakistan in Lahore in the name of M/s Macro Services Hong Kong, a non-existent firm and caused lose of Rs35.2 million to the bank.

Between 1993 and 1997, he tendered 249 bogus export bills at the National Bank of Pakistan in Lahore in the name of M/s Macro Services Hong Kong (a non-existent firm) and caused a loss of Rs613,173 million to the bank.

According to the NAB, in 2007, Sami Mohammad Yaqoob and Faisal Yaqoob received large sums of money from the business community in Kuwait, promising them profits in return. They then embezzled the money and absconded.