Court delays indictment of SBCA director, grants extension to NAB

Accountability court to indict former SBCA director, his wife on October 6

KARACHI:

An accountability court granted an extension on Wednesday to National Accountability Bureau (NAB) officials and delayed the indictment of the accused, former Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) director Adil Umar Siddiqui and his wife, in a corruption reference.

The accused's counsels maintained that some documents in the reference were not legible, following which NAB officials sought an extension to provide readable documents.

The court granted the extension, delaying the indictment's issuance until October 6.

According to the NAB, Siddiqui and his wife are accused of acquiring assets beyond means through corruption of Rs230 million in the SBCA.

Arrest warrant issued for foreigner

Meanwhile, an accountability court accepted a reference pertaining to causing a loss of over Rs20 billion with the connivance of foreigners to the national exchequer, issuing an arrest warrant for a foreign citizen, Paul Merck.

NAB filed the reference against Merck and five Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) officials.

According to the reference, the accused had misused their authority and caused a loss of over Rs20 billion to the national exchequer by making a deal on higher rates with a foreign company.

The court accepted the reference for hearing and issued notices to the five accused, including former PPL managing director Asim Murtaza Khan, PPL business development general manager Abdul Wahid, chief economist Rahat Hussain and others, who have acquired bails.

The court also issued an arrest warrant for Merck and adjourned the hearing till October 5.