NAB asked to file statement on money recovered from Raisani's residence

Supreme Court on Thursday asked National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to file a concise statement on the money recovered from the finance secretary of Balochistan who allegedly embezzled billions of rupees from local government's development funds.
A three-member bench led by Justice Dost Muhammad Khan also issued directives to the NAB, while hearing the bail application of Finance Advisor to Chief Minister Balochistan Khalid Lango, to provide a video recording of NAB's raid on the residence of provincial Finance Secretary Mushtaq Ahmed Raisani.
At the onset of the hearing, Prosecutor General NAB Waqas Qadeer Dar submitted minutes of Executive Board Meeting (EBM) in which a decision was made to grant the plea-bargain permission to Raisani.
The NAB arrested Balochistan's Finance Secretary Mushtaq Ahmed Raisani and recovered Rs650 million worth of currency notes in rupees, US dollars, British pounds and Saudi riyals, prize bonds worth millions of rupees and 2-kilogram of gold.
On October 24 last, the apex court had restrained Chairman NAB Qamar Zaman Chaudhry from approving deals under the voluntary return, a provision of the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO) 1999 that allowed people found guilty of corruption to pay a certain portion of the embezzled money and be released.
Justice Qazi Faez Isa remarked if the chairman NAB has been given authority to decide under Section 25B of National Accountability Ordinance, 1999 to grant permission to plea-bargain mechanism, whereas another member of the bench, Justice Faisal Arab, observed that money was seized and not returned voluntarily.
The NAB which is supposed to arrest the criminals is acting against the law, observed Justice Qazi Faez Isa saying, "Let's not call it plea-bargain but the bargain."
Justice Qazi Faez Isa asked the Chairman NAB, who was standing behind the PG Waqas Qadeer, to come forward and assist the court about the concept of plea-bargain. The Chairman NAB apprised the court that Rs 650 million, foreign currency and a 3.2-kg of gold were recovered from the residence of finance secretary, saying the main objective of plea bargain in a matter is to finalise the case.
To which, Justice Qazi Faez Isa remarked that the criminal has accepted that the recovered money is not from his hard-earned income. He asked the chairman that he would have to justify the grounds on which he granted Mushtaq Raisani permission to enter into plea-bargain.
The chairman NAB submitted there are many reasons to allow the accused to enter into voluntary return arrangement, to which Justice Qazi Faez Isa observed the NAB is accommodating the accused persons.
Farooq H Naek, the counsel for Khalid Lango, told the court that there is no fault of his client but he is still behind the bars. He submitted that the NAB has failed to file a reference against his client so far. The hearing of matter was adjourned till Feb 09.