The Privatisation Commission in collaboration with the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has recovered the Voluntary Return offer of Rs 404.5 million from Asif Kamal, Chairman Trust Investment Bank Limited (TIBL).
The decision was approved by the Executive Board of NAB in a meeting held on April 18, said a statement issued by the Privatisation Commission Wednesday.
Given that Rs 294.37 million had been recovered earlier, Privatisation Commission will now be able to recover a total amount of Rs 698.87 million on account of Rs 500 million initial placement of funds with TIBL, it added.
In 2010, Trust Investment Bank Limited (TIBL) procured Rs 500 million of public money in two tranches including Rs 300 million and Rs 200 million respectively at the rate of return of 12.85 per cent per annum for a period of one year.
It said the investment of Rs 500 million was made in violation of sections 14, 16, 18, 19 and 20 respectively, along with other enabling provisions, rules and regulations of the Privatisation Commission Ordinance, 2000.
In February 2011, it was noticed that the investment made with TIBL was in breach of the Finance Division instructions, as well as the provisions of Section 14 of the PC Ordinance.
TIBL was therefore requested for an early withdrawal of the invested amount in February 2011. However, TIBL not only refused to return the amount but also expressed its inability to return the amount even upon maturity.
After liaising with the Finance Division, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), PC and TIBL entered into a settlement agreement on November 28, 2011.
According to the agreement, the TIBL deposited eight post-dated cheques with PC spanning over 12 months for the repayment of principal outstanding amount of Rs 500 million while agreeing to service mark up at 14 per cent per annum on the outstanding amount.
All the cheques bounced upon presentation and the PC lodged an FIR with FIA on November 11, 2012.
Subsequently, the Supreme Court also took a suo moto notice of the incident and directed FIA and NAB to investigate the matter along with the Finance Division and the Privatization Commission to ensure that every effort is made for recovery of the amount invested with TIBL along with markup.
On July 3, 2013, an amount of Rs 294.37 million was recovered in lieu of principal as well as markup against Rs 500 million; thereafter, no substantial progress could be made.
However, the current PC management started actively pursuing the matter on all forums and the voluntary return offer has now been approved by the NAB authorities.
