ISLAMABAD: The NAB on Monday asked the accountability court to endorse the bureau’s order of freezing assets, properties, bank accounts and investments of Finance Minister Ishaq Dar in Pakistan and abroad in an illegal assets reference.
In line with the Supreme Court’s July 28 judgement in the Panama Papers case, NAB had filed a reference in an accountability court in Islamabad, which on September 27 indicted Dar and directed the prosecution to start producing witnesses and evidence.
NAB had passed a “freezing order” on October 18 regarding two-and-a-half dozen bank accounts and assets of Dar in Pakistan and abroad, the court documents revealed.
Submitting the details of assets and properties – movable and immovable – of Dar, his family, dependents and benamidars, NAB requested the court to endorse its action because “there is serious apprehension that the accused or his dependents / benamidars may dispose of, alienate, sell, create charge or change the status of the property”.
In the application, the anti-graft watchdog has listed details of six bank accounts in Lahore and Islamabad, 13 assets within the country and seven assets/companies abroad.
At the moment, Dar has two Mercedes Benz cars, three Land Cruisers and one Toyota Corolla. Out of the two Land Cruisers one is in the name of his wife, Tabassum Ishaq Dar.
The PML-N leader also owns a two kanal plot at Parliament Enclave, a two kanal plot with Ayaz Builders (Pvt) Ltd, six-acre land in Mauza Milot in the capital, three plots in Alfalah Housing Society in Lahore, a house in Gulberg, Lahore, a plot in Mauza Bhubtian measuring two kanal 19 marlas and a plot in the Senate Cooperative Housing Society, Islamabad.
The six-acre land in the capital is in Dar and his wife’s name while the three plots in the Alfalah Housing Society are shared by the couple and their son, Ali Mustafa Dar, the documents stated.
Among the assets located abroad, the documents revealed that Dar owns a flat each at Emirates Hill and Jumeirah in Dubai. He also owns a Bentley Arnage, a Mercedes and has two investments in Baraq Holding (Pvt) Ltd and one investment in Dar Al Nahyan (Pvt) Ltd.
In the application, NAB has informed the Accountability Judge Muhammad Bashir that assets and properties etc “in the name of the accused Muhammad Ishaq Dar and/or his dependents/benamidars [are] disproportionate to his known sources of income, for which he could not reasonably account for”.
The bureau also informed the court that while exercising powers under Section 12 of the NAB Ordinance of 1999, it has passed an order for freezing the assets, properties, bank accounts and investments.
Also, NAB said after going through the entire record, statements of prosecution witnesses, incriminating material and documentary evidence with diligent application of mind, there are reasonable grounds to believe that prima facie the offences of the corruption and corrupt practices have been committed.
The NAB prosecutor has appealed to the court to pass an order for confirmation of the “freezing order”. While supplying copy of the application to Dar’s counsel, Khawaja Harris, the court has fixed hearing for arguments over the application on October 30.
The court has also directed NAB to produce a new witness, Muhammad Azeem Khan, on the next date of hearing while the defence counsel would complete cross-examination on the two witnesses, Abdul Rehman Gondal and Masood Ghani, who appeared before the court on Monday and recorded their statement.
The prosecution’s first witness Abdul Rehman Gondal, who is an employee of a private bank, recorded his statement before the court. The details of Dar’s account at a private bank located in Parliment House have also been submitted by the first witness.
Further explaining, he said that the account was opened on March 25, 2005. He added that on August 17, he appeared before the NAB’s investigation officers.
The court then made the bank transaction details a part of the case record provided by the witness.
The Dar’s counsel, Khawaja Harris then examined Gondal.
The second witness of the prosecution named Masood Ghani, an operations manager at a private bank, also gave his testimony. He submitted to the court details of a bank account held by the finance minister.
During the cross-examination, Harris asked the witnesses if they could produce more documents necessary for concluding the cross-examination. Gondal said the documents were packed in “two sacks”, and asked if he should bring both. The court directed him to produce the evidence on the next date.
A heated argument also ensued between Harris and the NAB prosecutor.
