NAB hands over recovered money

Cheques worth Rs107.3m were distributed among govt and private officials

LAHORE: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Lahore Director General Saleem Shahzad handed over recovered money. Cheques worth Rs107.3 million were distributed among different government and private officials during a ceremony at NAB’s Lahore office on Thursday.

The beneficiaries included officials from the University of Sargodha (UoS), the Lahore Development Authority (LDA), the Punjab Highway Department, the Gujranwala Irrigation Employees Cooperative Housing Society (GIECHS) and the Northern Power Generation Company Limited (NPGCL).

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According to details, UoS Registrar Dr Fahadullah received a cheque amounting to Rs94.2 million, Ghulam Abbas from LDA received a cheque of Rs3.4 million, GIECHS President Riaz Gujjar received a cheque of Rs1.4 million and NPGCL officials received a cheque of Rs4.5 million. A representative of the Punjab chief secretary received a cheque of Rs3.8 million.

In the case of UoS, the former vice chancellor and others opened two illegal campuses in Lahore and Mandi Bahauddin by misusing their authority and without obtaining approval from the syndicate. They obtained Rs59.3 million in excess fees from students.

The accused also misappropriated Rs50.1 million in administrative matters, thereby causing a loss of Rs109.4 million. During the course of an investigation, the accused opted for a plea bargain and returned the amount liable against them.

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Under the supervision of NAB Lahore officials, the recovered amount would be returned by the varsity’s administration to all the students who had paid excessive fees.

Speaking at the occasion, the NAB DG said that recovering each and every looted penny from corrupt elements is the bureau’s priority.

In the past, we recovered billions from such elements in different scams and the amount was submitted either in the government kitty or distributed among the affectees concerned, he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 26^th, 2019.