Thatta water supply case: Income returns, wealth statements of accused produced before court

ISLAMABAD: A prosecution witness on Tuesday told the Accountability Court that he had produced income returns and wealth statements of accused, Abdul Ghani Majid and others, before the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) following the direction of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).

Prosecution witness Imran Farooq, deputy commissioner Enforcement and Collection, while testifying before the Accountability Court-II judge Muhammad Azam Khan in Thatta water supply reference, a case pertaining to fake bank accounts case involving former president Asif Ali Zardari and others, said "we are bound to follow the directions contained in the circular issued by the FBR from time to time."

He also produced the copy of circular dated December 28, 2018 before the court, which authorises chief commissioner Inland Revenue (IR) to provide information to the NAB.

The witness said this, when he was asked by defence counsel Arshad Tabraz, is it correct to suggest that according to Section 191 of Income Tax Ordinance, he (witness) and my department could not disclose information contained in the documents, which he produced before the investigation officer (IO) of the NAB.

The witness during the cross examination said that he had provided income returns and wealth statements of accused, Abdul Ghani Majid, Minahel Majid, Khawaja Nimar Majid, and Noor Majid, to the NAB's IO.

At the start of the hearing, Zardari and other accused's counsel filed separate applications seeking exemption for their clients from personal appearance, which the court approved. The witness further testified that the documents he produced before the NAB does not bear any endorsement that he was recipient of these documents.

Abdul Ghani Majid filed this income tax return as a private person, he said, adding it was no where mentioned on those documents that he was a holder of public office.

When the defence counsel asked witness, "Today you have brought any original regard?"

"I have not brought the original document, which I have already exhibited in my examination in chief," the witness replied.

To another question that he had not given any permission letter of the FBR chief commissioner IR permitting him to produce these documents before the NAB's IO, he said he was not in charge of large taxpayer unit at the time of the investigation.

The anti-graft body nominated Asif Ali Zardari and 13 other suspects, in the supplementary reference filed in connection with Thatta water supply scam. The bureau had not nominated Zardari in the interim reference, and Ashfaq Leghari, and in-charge Naudero House Nadeem Bhutto, in the supplementary reference.

In interim reference, the bureau nominated 13 accused including Ejaz Ahmed Khan, former secretary of Special Initiative Department of Sindh, Hassan Memon, project director/chairman of the procurement committee for the water supply scheme, Thatta, members of the committee namely, Ali Akbar Abro, Aijaz Ahmed Memon, Athar Nawaz Durrani, Abdul Haleem Memon, Mohammad Farrukh Khan, Mohammad Ramzan, Mohammad Siddiq Sulemani, and Zeeshan Hasan Yousaf, a private contractor Harish, CEO Omni Group Khawaja Abdul Ghani Majeed, and Minahal Majeed.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020