Corruption reference: Dar has sold 15 properties, AC told

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Wednesday informed the Accountability Court hearing a corruption reference against former finance minister Ishaq Dar that the accused had sold 15 properties but had not transferred his assets to the co-accused.

Investigation Officer NAB Nadir Abbas produced a letter of completion of investigation against Dar before Accountability Court Judge Muhammad Bashir. During the hearing, he told the court that he has conducted investigations against Dar regarding his offshore companies, assets beyond means and assets inside and outside the country.

The anti-graft body had filed a supplementary reference against Dar on February 26 last year. The reference comprises seven volumes and includes 24 witnesses and three co-accused namely former president of National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) Saeed Ahmed, Mansoor Raza Rizvi and Naeem Mehmood, both directors of Dar's companies. During the hearing the three co-accused were present in the courtroom. All the three accused were present in the court during the hearing.

Defence Counsel Qazi Misbah asked the investigation officer, "Have you brought all the record of Dar case along with you?" The investigation officer replied, "I have not brought all the record related to the reference."

The investigation officer said that the NAB had conducted verification of Dar's accounts and assets through various relevant institutions. The defence counsel asked the investigation officer if he came to know during the investigation about the record of 24 assets which had been sold by Dar. To this the investigation officer replied that he will check it. Objecting to the defence counsel's question, Prosecutor NAB Afzal Qureshi said,"You (defence counsel) are not Dar's counsel; therefore, you cannot ask questions about him."

This court has declared Dar as a proclaimed offender, he said, adding that the counsel for the co-accused is defending a proclaimed offender. The court adjourned the hearing of the case till October 23 and the defence counsel will continue cross-examination of investigation officer on the next hearing.

A reference was filed by the NAB against Dar following the Supreme Court's July 28, 2017 verdict in the Panama Papers case. It may be mentioned here that the Accountability Court declared Dar a proclaimed offender due to his continuous absence from the court during the hearings of the case.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2019