NAB has recovered Rs440m in M9 land scam, court informed

Recoveries made from suspect Kaleri who is said to be co-accused with main culprits

HYDRABAD:

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has claimed cumulative recovery of around Rs440 million from suspect Aashiq Hussain Kaleri arrested in the Rs2.14 billion scam involving land acquisition for M6 Hyderabad-Sukkur Motorway.

A NAB team produced Kaleri before the Accountability Court in Hyderabad on Tuesday and apprised the judge of making a fresh recovery of Rs299.7 million and two imported vehicles from Kaleri, whose further remand was sought.

Earlier, NAB had claimed recovery of Rs137.5 from the same suspect, who is said to be an accomplice of the main suspects, former Deputy Commissioner Matiari District Adnan Rashid and former Assistant Commissioner New Saeedabad Taluka Mansoor Abbassi.

On NAB's request, the court granted a six-day remand with the order to produce the accused again on February 6. The amount was deposited in the DC Matiari's account for land acquisition. The inquiry unearthed that the NHA had transferred Rs4.09 billion, which accrued to Rs4.63 billion over a period of time due to interest payments, to the DC's account in the Sindh Bank. A sum of Rs2.14 billion was released in a bogus way through 438 cheques.

Following the report, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah directed the Chief Secretary to immediately take action.

An FIR was later lodged by the Anti-Corruption Establishment, nominating the DC Rashid, AC Abbassi and Assistant Manager Sindh Bank in Matiari District, Tabish Shah, on the complaint of an ACE official Irfan Ali in Hyderabad.

It contained sections 468, 467, 420, 409, 34 and 477-A of Pakistan Penal Code and section 5(2) of Anti-Corruption Act.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 1^st, 2023.