Sharjeel Memon, 11 others indicted in corruption references

Police presented the accused before the court where the judge read out the crimes; all the suspects pleaded not guilty

Former provincial minister Sharjeel Memon along with 11 others accused of embezzling almost Rs6 billion in Sindh's Information Department have been indicted by an accountability court in Karachi on Thursday.

Police presented Memon and 11 others before the court where the judge read out the individual crimes of all those present. All the suspects pleaded not guilty. The judge then indicted all 12 present.



According to the National Accountability Bureau's (NAB) reference, investigation was conducted regarding corruption and corrupt practices in awarding advertisements to television and FM radio channels concerning awareness campaign carried out by Sindh Information Department.

Between July 2013 and June 2015, an amount of Rs5.76 billion was paid to seven advertisement agencies. The reference says that Memon illegally approved the release of official advertisements to the electronic media through so-called, pre-qualified advertising agencies without completing the due process.



The investigation reveals that the advertising agencies paid lower prices to TV channels and claimed much higher amounts, even though they were entitled to just 15 per cent agency commission against the total bill.