ISLAMABAD, June 30: The agencies investigating white collar crimes are passing the buck on the issue of putting Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf’s name on the exit control list in the rental power projects (RPPs) case.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has apparently taken a step towards protecting the premier, by dividing the case into two parts. It first plans to investigate owners of the RPPs and then lay hands on the people on the government side (including the prime minister).

“Presently we are concentrating on owners of RPPs because if we first investigate people involved on the government side and find them guilty, the owners will take a plea that corruption was committed by the government functionaries and not by private power producers,” NAB Chairman Admiral (retd) Fasih Bukhari said during a meeting with editors of newspapers and TV channels on Saturday.

Mr Bukhari said the bureau was reviewing references forwarded by the prime minister’s adviser on interior affairs against the Sharif brothers, but “elections are near and political cases will not be reopened against anyone, including the Sharif brothers,for the time being”.

“President Zardari has barred me from reopening Nawaz Sharif’s cases,” he added.

In reply to a question, the NAB chief put the entire responsibility of putting the names of the accused on the ECL on the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and the interior ministry. “Ask the FIA if the prime minister’s name is there,” he said.

He said Mr Ashraf had been questioned for about three hours before assuming charge as the prime minister and NAB had also recommended that his name be put on the ECL.

However, an FIA official said the agency had no power to put a name on the ECL. Rather, it only maintained the list. “Actually the interior ministry processes cases of ECL and puts names on it,” he said.

While Interior Adviser Rehman Malik was not available to comment, an official of his ministry said the issue of putting names of accused on the ECL had been referred to the law ministry. “We have sought legal opinion from the law ministry on whether the name of the prime minister can be put on the ECL,” he said.

Law Minister Farooq Naek could not be contacted for comments.

The Supreme Court ordered in April that the names of 51 people, including four ministers, four federal secretaries and owners and chief executives of RPPs, be put on the ECL, but so far not a single name has been put on the list.

ARSALAN CASE: The NAB chief said a joint investigation team comprising officials of the bureau, FIA and police had been formed to investigate the case of Arsalan Iftikhar, the son of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.

He said the director general of NAB’s financial crimes wing would head the JIT that would also visit London. The investigations might take some time.

The NAB chief said that Arsalan Iftikhar’s lawyer had sent a notice to the bureau that, he alleged, was an effort to influence the case.

“The notice contains threatening language, attempting to hamper proceedings and this constitutes an offence under the law and this aspect will also be looked into,” he said.

“As the JIT is in the process of constitution in compliance with SC orders, the ‘notice’ by Arsalan Iftikhar is tantamount to contempt of court as well,” he said.

The investigation team, he said, would largely depend on documentary evidence. Therefore, a question of favour or disfavour to anyone didn’t arise.

ZARDARI, NAWAZ: Presenting an overall picture of corruption in the country, Mr Bukhari said NAB would take up major corruption cases involving more than Rs5 billion under orders of the Supreme Court.

“The case of President Asif Zardari and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif amount to Rs5 billion and Rs3billion, respectively,” he said.

“Corruption of Rs6 billion to Rs8 billion takes place in a day in the country.” The NAB chairman said corruption was the main issue in the country and the society was as corrupt as the legal system. He said NAB had recovered Rs235 billion since its establishment in 1999.

The NAB chief said an investigation was being carried out in accordance with court orders into Rs55 billion corruption in the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority. Ogra Member Mansoor Muzaffar has been arrested and warrants for arrest of former chairman Tauqeer Sadiq have been issued.