Sugar cane subsidy reference: AC asks NAB to submit report on assets of accused

ISLAMABAD: The Accountability Court Wednesday asked the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to submit its report regarding assets details and blocking of Computerised National Identity Cards (CNICs) of four accused of corruption case regarding misappropriation in the government subsidy awarded for sugarcane growers.

Accountability Court judge Asghar Ali, while hearing the case, directed the NAB investigation officer (IO) its report to submit assets details blocking of CNICs of four accused including Ali Kamal Majeed, Nimr Majeed, Manahil Majeed, and Saima Majeed, over their failure to join the trial in the case, despite being repeatedly issued summons.

The IO informed the court that letters had been forwarded to the concerned department for provision of assets' details and blocking of the CNICs of the four accused. He requested the court to grant him time for furnishing the report. The court approved his request and adjourned hearing of the case till December 16th.

During the pervious hearing, asked the four accused to appear before it to defend charges against them or else they would be declared proclaimed offender (PO). The defence counsel told the court that majority of the accused in the case belonged to Karachi, therefore, keeping in view, the coronavirus situation, indict them via video link from Karachi.

The Accountability Court-II has granted such facility to some of the accused of fake accounts cases, he further said. At this, the judge said that the accused who never appeared before the court, they should have to appear on the day of indictment.

The NAB has nominated 40 accused in the reference. The bureau filed the reference against the accused over charges of embezzlement of millions of funds issued by the government of Sindh to sugar mills as a subsidy for onward payment to sugarcane farmers.

The Sindh government through provincial cane commissioner paid Rs3.9 billion to various sugar mills for onward payment to genuine sugarcane growers as subsidy on account of supply of sugarcane for the season 2014-2015. An investigation was conducted against eight sugar mills owned by the Omni Group of Anwar Majeed, and his four sons, Abdul Ghani Majeed, Nimr Majeed, Mustafa Zulqarnain Majeed, and Ali Kamal Majeed.

The investigation revealed that out of Rs728.18 million subsidy granted to eight sugar mills of the Omni Group, an amount of Rs346 million had been allegedly misappropriated in connivance with senior employees by showing their low-paid staff as sugarcane growers.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020