The apex court on Monday stopped the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) from accepting offers of ‘voluntary return’ of ill-gotten money by a wrongdoer under the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO) 1999.
Chief Justice of Pakistan Anwar Zaheer Jamali had taken a suo motu notice of the issue in September.
Taking up the case, a three-judge bench headed by Justice Jamali also sought the details about money returned voluntarily by the provinces and federation during the last decade. Other judges on the bench were Justice Azmat Saeed and Justice Ameer Muslim Hani.
During the proceedings, the court observed that the NAB had acquitted the suspects while asking them to return the looted money in installments. “Other countries laugh at such laws,” it remarked, adding that “a suspect who commits corruption of Rs 20 million is released after returning Rs 2 lac”.
Justice Ameer Muslim Hani observed that high profile people including parliamentarians were included in returning the money voluntarily. “The NAB reinstates the persons allegedly involved in corruption after taking back money voluntarily,” he added.
“Plea bargaining law has enhanced the corruption manifold and NAB officials receives award after plea bargaining or received 20 per cent of the total amount,” Justice Hani observed, and maintained that the government itself was involve in plea bargaining and the NAB had itself too made settlement with suspects allegedly involved in corrupt practices.
Justice Azmat Saeed, the third judge on the bench, observed that the NAB amended the law whenever it wanted. “NAB itself invites the persons allegedly involved in corruption for plea bargaining and requests the plea bargaining through letter to suspects,” he added.
The attorney general of Pakistan (AG), during the hearing, informed the court that law of voluntarily returning the money was being amended. Later, the court adjourned the hearing till November 7.
