NAB launches probe into sugar subsidy scam

The country's prime anti-graft body – the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) – has announced to form a combined investigation team (CIT) of “hardworking experts” to investigate misuse of huge subsidies by sugar mills owners and others.           

NAB took the decision on Friday in a meeting that also made a detailed review of the report of a commission of inquiry formed in March this year to probe into a sudden surge in sugar prices in January.

In its preliminary report – unveiled on April 5 – the commission had claimed that sugar mills belonging to the families of the country’s top politicians including PML-N’s Shehbaz Sharif, PTI’s Jahangir Tareen and Khusro Bakhtiar, PML-Q’s Moonis Elahi and PPP’s Asif Ali Zardari were among beneficiaries of the crisis.

In its forensic report – issued on May 21 – the commission had accused the sugar mill owners of earning illegal profits to the tune of billions of rupees through unjustified price hikes, benami transactions, tax evasion, misuse of subsidy and purchasing sugarcane off the books.

While a number of sugar mills owners had later challenged the commission and its reports in various courts, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Accountability Shahzad Akbar on July 17 said the government had sent a reference to NAB to investigate misappropriation in subsidies given to sugar mills.

And in a statement issued on Friday, NAB announced that a “CIT has been constituted in a meeting presided over by NAB Chairman Javed Iqbal after reviewing the sugar commission report in detail. The CIT has been mandated to conduct investigations in an impartial, independent, transparent manner.”

It said the CIT would obtain details about the subsidy from the provinces; the financial and audit reports of relevant companies; the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) and others to probe the subsidy threadbare.                 

“The CIT consists of two investigation officers, financial experts, legal consultants, sugar industry investigation experts, additional director and relevant directors to probe the subsidy scam.”

It said the investigations would be supervised by NAB Rawalpindi Director General Irfan Naeem Mangi.

“NAB chairman, deputy chairman, prosecutor general accountability and DG operation would jointly review the report of the CIT every month,” the spokesperson added.

NAB chairman directed the CIT to complete the sugar subsidy investigations in a professional manner by providing ample opportunity to individuals and departments and take action against those who received subsidy on sugar illegally.                                                       

NAB Deputy Chairman Hussain Asghar, Prosecutor General Syed Asghar Haider, DG Operations Zahir Shah, NAB Rawalpindi DG Irfan Naeem Mangi and other senior officers attended the meeting.

 WITH ADDITIONAL INPUT FROM APP