FIA experts services sought for Broadsheet commission

Law ministry passes necessary directions to activate body

ISLAMABAD:

The Federal Ministry of Law and Justice has passed necessary directions to several departments to activate the Broadsheet Commission.

In pursuance of the cabinet decision, the law ministry has written letters to the Interior Division, FIA director general, Chief Commissioner, Inspector General of Police Islamabad and Attorney General for Pakistan for activation of the Broadsheet inquiry commission led by former Supreme Court judge Azmat Saeed Sheikh.

The ministry, in its letter to the FIA director general, stated that services of two seasoned experts having expertise in financial matters are required by the inquiry commission.

The ministry also designated its 12 officials to perform their duties in the inquiry commission office. A letter was also written, seeking service of BS-20 officer Tariq Mehmood to perform the duty as registrar of the inquiry commission. Currently, he is doing duty in the Benazir Income Support Programme.

The government has constituted the one-man commission comprising the former apex court judge, under Section 3 of the Commission of Inquiry Act, 2017.

The law ministry also wrote to Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Khalid Jawed Khan seeking service of law officer preferably Additional Attorney General Sajid Ilyas Bhatti for the inquiry commission.

Likewise, interior ministry is also requested to provide two police vehicles, one escort vehicle comprising four armed personnel and one jammer vehicle and two gunmen to inquiry commission head Justice (retd) Azmat Saeed Sheikh.

As per the ToRs (terms of reference), the commission will examine the process of selection and appointment of assets recovery firms — Trouvons LLC, Broadsheet LLC and International Asset Recovery Limited (‘IAR’) — and execution of agreements in 2000 to trace the offshore assets of Pakistanis stashed abroad.

It will also probe into the circumstances, reasons and effect of cancellation of agreements with Broadsheet LLC and IAR in 2003.

The commission will also identify the persons or officials responsible for making wrong payment of $1.5 million to the wrong person in 2008 who was not entitled to receive such payment.

In December 2020, a high court in the UK had ordered debiting Rs4.5 billion from the accounts of the Pakistan High Commission in London over non-payment of a penalty by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to the foreign asset recovery firm Broadsheet LLC.

The inquiry will determine as to whether after finalisation of the award and appellate proceedings before the High Court at London, the process of making payments to the claimant was legal and in accordance with the prescribed rules and procedure.

The incidents and cases relating to recovery efforts and legal proceedings pursued by the government of Pakistan since the year 1990 in foreign jurisdictions for recovery of unlawfully removed money or illegally acquired assets, “but were closed, abandoned and/or withdrawn without any valid reason or justification resulting in colossal losses to the country?”

The one-man commission will identify and fix responsibility of any person, body or authority, etc., which was found guilty of gross negligence or misconduct or acted with mala fide motive or objective in respect of the above matters.

According to the ToRs, in addition to the powers conferred on the commission, it shall also be empowered under Section 10(b), to constitute special teams consisting of officers from the executive authorities and experts in any particular field, for the purpose of assisting the commission in conducting the inquiry.