AJK fishing scam: Cases filed against contractor, bank officials

Contractor failed to pay Rs130m, NIB staffers issued fake guarantee letter

MUZAFFARABAD: Criminal cases were registered on Monday against a private bank staffers for issuing bogus guarantee letters and a contractor for failing to pay fishing fees to the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) government.

The AJK chief secretary has also directed the four deputy commissioners of the division to take action against the nominated persons.

According to sources, the AJK Wildlife and Fisheries Department had signed with Raja Arshad a Rs160-million contract for three years in 2013  for fishing in Mangla Dam.

The Mirpur branch of National Investment Bank (NIB) issued a guarantee letter for payment on behalf of the contractor.

However, the contract ended on June 30, 2016. So far, the contractor had paid only Rs30 million to the fisheries department and failed to pay Rs130 million to the department as per agreement.

The sources said that when the department contacted the bank for honouring the guarantee for payment on behalf of the contractor, they did not own the guarantee.

Official sources further revealed that the same bank had also issued cheques for Rs20 million as guarantor to the AJK fisheries department, which bounced back.

The official sources further said that if the money was not deposited by the bank within a week, AJK government will shut down its operations in the region.

High officials of the state government have also directed the Mirpur commissioner and deputy commissioners to register a case against the contractor under Land Revenue Act. If the contractor fails to pay the money, the government can attach and auction his movable and immovable properties to clear the pending dues.

The police in Mirpur confirmed that they had registered an FIR against the contractor and the bank officials, and confiscated his fishing boats, nets and other accessories used for fishing in the dam.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 5^th, 2016.