Former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani. PHOTO: AFP/FILE
The key accused in the seven-billion-rupee financial scam in the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP), Muhammad Firdous, has turned approver against former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and former federal minister Makhdoom Amin Fahim.
In his confessional statement, Firdous has disclosed that he paid Rs5 million to Gilani at the Prime Minister House as the ‘first instalment’ for the release of freight subsidy funds and prepared the freight subsidy corruption plan with the PM’s former jail-mate and friend Faisal Siddique Khan.
He said that 65% of the money was taken by affiliates of Gilani and Fahim, while the remaining 35% was distributed among TDAP officers.
In his affidavit in front of the judicial magistrate, Firdous said that he had family relations with Khan who visited him at the office of Sky Cargo in 2008. Faisal told Firdous that he was financially broke after several legal cases against him in Islamabad.
When Gilani became prime minister after the 2008 elections, Faisal visited Firdous again and offered that he could arrange any favour the latter needed from the prime minister. Firdous, grabbing the opportunity, said that some claims of the Freight Subsidy Scheme 2002-03 were in the doldrums for want of funds. If the prime minister releases the funds, quite a handsome amount of money can be made from exporters as ‘commission’.
Faisal promised to help and explain that they both will visit the Prime Minister House to get this done and some amount will have to be handed over to the PM as the first instalment. With the contributions from other exporters, Firdous accumulated Rs5 million and went to the PM House along with Faisal.
He paid the money to Muhammad Zubair, the deputy secretary at the prime minister, and also met Gilani later. They had another meeting and – in exchange – Rs436 million was released on the directives of the then PM to be paid as freight subsidy.
Faisal also had a meeting with the then TDAP chief executive, Syed Muhibullah Shah. After the funds were released, Firdous, TDAP brokers Mian Muhammad Tariq and Haroon Rasheed Raisani submitted fake claims of bogus companies in consultation with Faisal.
About 90 per cent of the amount of the freight subsidy was paid to these bogus companies. However, real claims in pending were paid using the rest of the 10% of the subsidy amount, according to Firdous.
Since records at the National Bank of Pakistan were destroyed, a series of payment of billions of rupees in freight subsidy were continuously paid year after year to phony companies, he explained. The amount looted this way was distributed between two groups: one was of former federal commerce minister Amin Faheem, which included Iftikhar Ifti, Shahid Khan, Ministry of Commerce Director Sikandar Ali Shah and Farhan Junejo; the second group was spearheaded by Yousaf Raza Gilani and included Faisal Siddique Khan, Mian Muhammad Tariq, Haroon Rasheed Raisani and the approver himself.
Later, Gilani and Faisal developed differences over the division of embezzled money and the whole business of handling corruption was handed over to Farhan Junejo.
Meanwhile, Tariq Iqbal Puri had been appointed TDAP’s chief executive and all the matters related to corruption were settled at his brother’s house instead of the PM House. The share of the prime minster and Amin Fahim was raised from 65% to 70%.
The Federal Investigating Agency (FIA) has registered more than 65 cases in the freight subsidy financial scandal while dozens of officers, including two former TDAP chiefs, owners of the bogus companies and brokers who were front men, have been arrested.
(TRANSLATED BY ARSHAD SHAHEEN)
Published in The Express Tribune, April 29th, 2014.
COMMENTS (13)
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So let us put this in perspective, after almost a year of so-called FIA investigations, besides arresting the low and mid grade officers who acted on the orders of the PM and the then Minister of Commerce, what has the FIA actually accomplished? Why are Gillani and Fahim still walking around free? There is no effort to arrest the two top politicians who were the people who gave the actual orders and got the illegal funds. Instead the FIA keeps arresting the junior officers who followed the orders of Gillani and Fahim. Is this because PML-N and PPP have a muk-muka not to touch each others corruption cases?
(PPP) Democracy is the best revenge' from people of Pakistan.
Charter of Democracy signed by PPP and PML-N in 2006...to protect each other interest..nothing will happened,soon this case will be put under the carpet
The firm of Chartered Accountants who certified bogus claims are also accused as per FIA challan and some of them are under arrest and others on bail. So sad who greed and lust for quick money has destroyed the moral fibre of the country
somebody said right up there .. nothing will happen to PPP's people in PML(N) Government.
This will not just be his testimony but details he shares can be used to investigate the case further. If he tells a particular bogus company was paid, you can look at the business activities of the company and track the money trail. This is how you can unearth the benefeceries.
This appears quite complicated case based on a statement of an individual.
What Nbp received from govt and how bank made settlement or adjusted fund involves forensic investigation and authorities should engaged big 4 to conduct this investigation.
Nbp management should be fined with destroying record and violating document retention policy.
FIA can seek advice from experts and loads of skill full people out who are patriotic will be available to provide free advice, unless there is another chain of fraud within investigation.
@Mirza:
This practice of accused becoming approver is practices all over the globe, it is a necessity to stop the bigger evil. There is a Greek Term to describe it which I do not remember right now.
If Pakistan has to progress, She does not need Aid / Loans / Kerry Lugar or Obama Boomer, She need honest, corruption free leaders & bureaucracy and the progress becomes unstoppable. Mark That.
regards,
PML (N) will not do anything against PPP as they have a deal call Democracy?
One thing is certain that the main accused is a culprit. He has confessed to his crimes. Whether the charges stick on the others he is trying to implicate, he should not be spared.
How credible! Is this prosecution or persecution? Reminiscent of the testimony that took Prime Minister ZA Bhutto to the gallows.
A drowning man will drag anyone with him. And if it saves his skin, does he give a damn as to who he is implicating.
Basically this whole case is based upon testimony of the main accused who is going to benefit from being approver! Prosecution could not get a more corrupt man to testify with worse credibility? To involve more than a dozen people only one witness of shady character is all that they have come up after years of investigation.