ISLAMABAD: The Accountability Court on Thursday fixed November 16 for indictment of former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, former finance minister Miftah Ismail, and others in Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) case.
Accountability Court judge, Muhammad Azam Khan, while hearing the case, said the charge against Abbasi, Miftah Ismail and the other accused would be framed on November 16.
The court directed all the accused to ensure their presence before it, during the next hearing. The court also decided that charge against Karachi-based accused will be framed via video link from the registrar office, Accountability Court, Karachi. The court has separated two foreign-based accused including Managing Director M/s QED Consultants UK Phillip Nutman and chief executive officer of Maverick Advisory Sana Sadiq from the case.
At the start of hearing, Abbasi’s counsel Barrister Zafarullah Khan told the court that the NAB did file an application seeking one-day exemption of his client, which the court has approved.
During the hearing, Abbasi’s counsel adopted the stance before the court that “the NAB did not provide us any document with respect to allegation levelled against his client regarding money laundering.” “Charges could not be framed regarding those allegation about which documents had not been provided to us,” he said.
He said the NAB had calculated two types of losses, one was related to the crime, which had happened, and another was related to the crime, which was continuing.
He also said the NAB had not provided any documentary proof about the continuing crime.
The project was still continuing, therefore, the NAB needed to also arrest the present minister for petroleum, he said. Zafarullah further said the NAB had mentioned accused Ismail as approver in the reference.
NAB prosecutor, Usman Mirza, while objecting to Abbasi’s counsel’s stance, said the NAB had sufficient evidence regarding involvement of Abbasi in money laundering.
From 2013 to 2019 Rs1.2 billion additional amount had been transferred in to the accounts of Abbasi through suspicious transactions, while the amount he had received from his three sources of income including his salary as MNA, shares in a hotel in Murree, and an employee in Airblue, during the period was Rs73 million.
Abbasi was unable to explain before the investigators that from where he had received the additional amount of Rs1.2 billion, which had been transferred to his accounts from year 2013 to 2019, the prosecutor further told the court.
He also told the court that the bureau had concrete evidence about the continuing crime and all relevant documents would be provided to the accused. The contract would cost the public more than Rs68 billion over 15 years in terms of gas bills, he said. He also told the court that the bureau had also removed the objections of the defence counsel over some documents. The name of Ismail was mistakenly mentioned as approver on a page of reference, which was signed by the investigation officer of the case, he further told the court.
The court dismissed the defence counsel’s request, and fixed November 16 for indictment of all the accused.
The NAB on August 6, filed a supplementary reference in the LNG case, and nominated Abbasi, Abdul Khaqan Abbasi son of Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, former finance minister Miftah Ismail, ex-managing director (MD) Pakistan State Oil (PSO) Sheikh Imranul Haque, Agha Jan Akhtar, former chairman Port Qasim Authority (PQA), and Saeed Ahmed Khan, former chairman Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA), in the supplementary reference.
Other accused include, Aamir Naseem, former member oil OGRA, Uzma Adil Khan, chairperson OGRA, Shahid M Islam, former MD PSO, and Abdul Samad Dawood Director Engro Corporation Limited, Hussain Dawood Chairman Engro Corporation Limited, M/s QED Consultant UK through its MD Phillip Nutman, Maverick Advisory through its CEO Sana Sadiq, Muhammad Amin MD Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGCL), and Chaudhry Muhammad Aslam.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020
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