NAB files supplementary reference against Abbasi in LNG case

‘National exchequer suffered losses worth Rs21b due to award of contract’

ISLAMABAD:

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Thursday filed a supplementary reference against 15 accused including former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi in a case related to the award of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) import contract.

The reference filed in the registrar office nominated former premier Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, his son Abdullah Khaqan Abbasi, ex-SSGC board chairman Miftah Ismail, former PSO chairman Sheikh Imranul Haq, former chairman PQA Agha Jan Akhtar, former OGRA chairman Saeed Ahmed Khan, former member OGRA Aamir Naseem, OGRA Chairperson Uzma Adil Khan, former PSO MD Shahid M Islam, Engro Corporation Limited Director Abdul Samad Dawood, SSGCL MD Muhammad Amin, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi’s airlines MD Chaudhry Aslam and others.

Aslam had been nominated as accused for keeping and transferring the alleged laundered money in the airlines’ accounts.

The NAB adopted the stance in the reference that the airlines’ accounts had been used for kickbacks and laundered money from which the amounts were transferred to Abdullah Khaqan Abbasi and others accounts.

It further said that Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and other accused had misused their public offices and authority by “illegally” awarding the LNG contract.

According to the anti-corruption watchdog, the accused had caused a loss of Rs14 billion by awarding the contract to a private company, while the national exchequer suffered total losses worth Rs21 billion, which in the next 10 years would reach Rs47 billion. According to NAB, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and other accused had also been involved in corruption and money laundering. 

The reference after being scrutinised in the registrar office of the accountability court will be sent through the administrative judge to the accountability court for hearing.

Meanwhile, the accountability court deferred the hearing of LNG case due to non-availability of the judge. Abbasi and other co-accused appeared before the court and marked their presence.

The hearing of the case was adjourned without any proceedings until September 7 as the judge was on leave.
 Abbasi was arrested in connection with the case in July 2019.

He had been accused of awarding a 15-year contract for a terminal against the rules when he was the petroleum minister in former premier Nawaz Sharif’s cabinet. The case was closed by NAB in 2016 but then reopened in 2018.