NAB to initiate inquiry against Najam Sethi, Fawad Hassan Fawad

• NAB chairman directs to speed up investigations to recover Rs900 billion in corruption cases 

ISLAMABAD: The  National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has launched inquiry against Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Najam Aziz Sethi and Fawad Hassan Fawad, who served as former principal secretary to ex-prime minister Nawaz Sharif, over allegations of corruption.

Documents available with Pakistan Today disclose that NAB has initiated an inquiry against Najam Sethi and Fawad Hassan Fawad to probe the charges of corruption levelled against them in different complaints submitted with the bureau.

Najam Sethi is accused of money laundering and of possessing assets beyond sources of income, i-e acquiring overseas properties worth millions of dollars, while Fawad Hassan Fawad is alleged of constructing a huge plaza valued at more than Rs12 billion at a commercial plot opposite to GPO in Sadar, Rawalpindi.

According to sources, former NAB chairman Qamar Zaman Chaudry did not grant permission to start an inquiry against Fawad Hassan Fawad and Najam Sethi during his tenure. They said that though the name of Sethi was mentioned in Panama Papers, and former test-cricketer Sarfraz Nawaz requested to initiate the inquiry, NAB remained reluctant to pursue the matter.

They added that a case is still pending with Islamabad High Court (IHC) against NAB over the allegations of not initiating an inquiry against Fawad.

Documents reveal that NAB has launched an inquiry against Fawad over the application of Khurram Qureshi, a resident of Islamabad. In his application, the complainant Khurram Qureshi alleged that Fawad and his brother Waqar have no source of income to justify assets of over Rs12 billion. He also accused that Fawad, in connivance with his brother Waqar, and persons named Gul Zareen from Belgium and Qamar Chaudhry, constructed a huge plaza opposite to GPO in Sadar, Rawalpindi.

The land for the plaza was taken from Gul Zareen in exchange for certain promises and a residential plot at Haider Road, Rawalpindi. Financing for the construction of the said building was arranged by JS Bank using influence.

Furthermore, details of allegations levelled against Najam Sethi by former test cricketer Sarfraz Nawaz revolve around possession of two un-declared apartments in Manhattan, New York.

It was also learnt that NAB has received details of Najam Sethi’s income tax returns in the USA.

NAB may seek details of the cases of Sethi’s undeclared assets from Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), which were registered in 2010-11. And, if FBR has closed the cases, then allegations of tax evasion and money laundering may be revisited again.

Moreover, if the cases against Sethi are still unresolved, then formal inquiry may be authorised to probe the allegations of possessing assets beyond means and match-fixing with bookies under the provisions of NAO 1999.

It has also been brought into the notice of NAB that Sethi is accused of spending a week, before cricket world cup in India, and hosted by Mahesh bookie. Reportedly, when Pakistan lost to India, Sethi made the $4 million.

Sethi made another $0.6 million when Pakistan lost to West Indies.

According to reports, he bought an apartment in London for $1 million after Manhattan. Also, a blog quoted inquires of tax authorities that Rs15,820 million, and another Rs3,803 million, were either concealed or undeclared in 2010-11 income tax returns by Najam Sethi, said the documents.

The spokesman of NAB and Fawad Hassan Fawad did not appear for official stance despite repeated efforts made by Pakistan Today.

It is worth mentioning that NAB has initiated inquiries against all those who were named in Panama Papers.

Different inquiries against top brass of various organisations have been sent to the pre-executive board meeting of the NAB. These inquiries include one against Dr Zafar Iqbal, who is the ex-vice chancellor of Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science, Technology, and other officials of the university, for their involvement in the award of the lease to Railways Golf Club, Lahore.

Other inquiries are against Lt Gen (retd) Javed Ashraf Qureshi, Tariq Hameed, Farooq Ahmed Awan, former Ministry of Information Technology secretary Riaz Asher Siddique, Universal Services Fund (USF) ex-CEO, and MIDAS CEO Inam Akbar.

Furthermore, NAB Chairman Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal has directed the regional offices of the accountability watchdog to speed up the investigations against the corruption-accused individuals so that the embezzled money estimated to the tune of Rs900 billion could be recovered.

The NAB chief issued the directives on Tuesday while chairing a high-profile meeting of officials at the bureau’s headquarter in Islamabad, where he was apprised of the pending inquiries regarding corruption and the progress made in this regard.

Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal was informed that 499 inquiries and 287 investigations were underway in different regional offices of the anti-corruption regulator, to which he sought replies as to why the NAB procedure, ensuring completion of investigations within a span of ten months, was not followed so that the references could be subsequently filed in the accountability courts.

According to a communique issued, the NAB chief was briefed that a total of 1,138 references were under scrutiny by different accountability courts, including 347 references filed by NAB Lahore office, 275 by Karachi bureau, 185 by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region, another 97 by Balochistan, 171 by Rawalpindi, 34 by Multan and 29 by Sukkur office of the anti-graft watchdog.

The chairman further instructed the NAB officials to move applications in the accountability courts seeking early hearing of the corruption references so that the ill-gotten money, calculated to be around Rs900 billion, could be recovered and deposited in the national exchequer besides ensuring punishment for the individuals found guilty of corruption on the basis of tangible evidence.