National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Chairman Chaudhry Qamar ul Zaman has rejected the offer of Foreign Office Director Shafqat Cheema to return the looted money through plea bargain.
Cheema will be presented before an accountability court on May 30. The NAB has sought all the accounts and records of tax payment in respect of Cheema from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).
Around Rs 50 million was recovered from the accounts of Cheema on the occasion of his arrest. He was working on Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka desk when he was nabbed.
The foreign office had asked NAB to take an action against Cheema on the charges of accumulating assets beyond the known source of income.
The documents of purchase of 125 acres of land by Cheema, near Gujranwala, have also come to light. He was alleged to sell 5,000 machine readable passports illegally when he was appointed in Madrid, Spain where he sold one passport at the cost of 2,500 euros. A ban was imposed on his promotion following this incident.
As per reports, NAB has extended the scope of investigations in this case and wants to bring to fore all of Cheema’s accomplices.