NAB ordered to wrap up assets case against Chaudhry brothers in four weeks

LHC asks NAB DG Lahore how a case is initiated against a person who pays taxes and has declared his assets

LAHORE:

The Lahore High Court (LHC) directed the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Wednesday to complete its investigation in the assets beyond means case against the Pakistan Muslim League - Quaid (PML-Q) leaders Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Chaudhry Pervez Elahi within four weeks.

This was observed by the court while hearing the Chaudhry brothers' petition against NAB's inquiries and its chairman's powers.

NAB Director-General Lahore Shehzad Saleem appeared before the court.

The counsel for the brothers told the court that his clients were facing charges of possessing assets beyond their means and illegal recruitment, and that the former cases against them was closed by the court in 2016.

However, NAB DG Lahore told the court that the anti-graft authority has closed the case of illegal recruitment against the Chaudhry brothers, while the latter was pending with the bureau.

He explained that a resident of Gujarat had lodged a complaint against the Chaudhry brothers in 2000, and the then NAB chairman had directed the anti-corruption department to investigate the matter.

It was in 2010 that a letter was written by NAB Lahore to the NAB chairman regarding this case. In 2014, a high-level committee directed the bureau to complete investigations in the case within two months.

The case started progressing in 2017, when the brothers were summoned and handed a performa regarding their assets.

Saleem told the court that the investigation in this case would be completed within six months.

After hearing the DG's arguments, Justice Sadaqat Ali Khan questioned how can an investigation be initiated against a person who is paying taxes and has declared all his assets. "How many assets do you have, and how much salary were you drawing when you were a lieutenant?" the judge asked the DG.

The NAB Lahore director-general responded that his assets were worth Rs40 million and he was currently drawing a monthly salary of Rs500,000 from NAB. "I do not have a salary record for the time I was a lieutenant with me at the moment," he added.

Justice Sadqat responded to the DG's remarks saying that the court would sometime sit down with him and have a detailed discussion about him.

He then directed NAB to complete the investigation against the Chaudhry brothers within four weeks.

In May this year, the PML-Q leaders had challenged the NAB chairman’s authority to reopen a 19-year old case against them in the LHC.

Both the leaders filed a petition alleging that NAB was an institution involved in political engineering and raised questions over its investigative authority.

They stated that the courts had earlier ruled on the NAB's role and its “erroneous methods” of investigation.

Chaudhry brothers submitted that the anti-corruption institution had launched investigations against them on the charges of misuse of authority, willful default and assets beyond means in 2000 and failed to find an iota of evidence against them during the past 19 years.

They said the NAB chief had once again ordered a probe in a 19-year old case and maintained that the anti-corruption watchdog chief had no authority to reopen the case that had already been closed.