The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has initiated a probe into payments worth Rs285 billion made to Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) on account of Price Differential Claims (PDCs) during the era of Pervez Musharraf, it was learnt on Monday.
Sources in the petroleum ministry informed this scribe that NAB has launched an examination in this regard. They said the bureau has started an investigation after the reservations raised by Auditor General of Pakistan regarding heavy embezzlement in the payments to OMCs.
Surprisingly, NAB Rawalpindi and NAB Karachi had earlier expressed different opinions regarding the payments to the OMCs. Both the bureaus conducted a separate probe into the matter. After the probe, NAB Rawalpindi said it was unable to reach a final conclusion regarding embezzlement in PDC due to lack of solid evidence. However, NAB Karachi opined that corruption was done in the payments of PDC to OMCs. The auditor general also raised objections in this regard; therefore, NAB Karachi will further investigate the matter.
The sources also told that the NAB Karachi recently paid a visit to the federal capital, meeting various officials of petroleum and finance ministries, and OGRA as well. They said NAB Karachi summoned former director general Oil Abdul Jabbar Memon, Sabir Hussain, G A Sabri, Dr Waqar Masud, former secretary petroleum Ejaz Chaudhry and consultants on the pricing of the petroleum ministry. NAB officials interviewed them and recorded their statements. Around Rs 30bln worth heavy embezzlement are made in the payments of PDC to OMCs, sources said.
It is also learnt that ministry of finance and water & power have made payments worth billion rupees to some refineries and oil marketing companies on wrong claims. Sources said NAB, after completing inquiry of this case, will forward its findings to NAB headquarters, and approval of NAB chairman over the change of inquiry into investigation will be sought. Moreover, arrests of some officials involved in embezzlements are likely to be made by the NAB to ascertain the actual facts, sources added.
It is pertinent to mention here that Pervez Musharaf government in a bid to save the skins of the common public from the hike in the prices of petroleum products in the international market had paid Rs285 billion worth of payments to OMCs on account of PDC. The then government did not pass on the hike to oil consumers in comparison to an upward trend in the prices of petroleum products and made these payments to OMCs.