Taking to task: SC orders proceedings against Amin Fahim

Chief justice irked at FIA investigation delays.

ISLAMABAD:

The Supreme Court directed a trial court in Karachi to proceed against former federal minister for commerce Makhdoom Amin Fahim, in the 2009 National Insurance Company Limited land scam case.

The trial court was instructed to proceed according to the law and to not be influenced by the hearings in the apex court.

Amin Fahim, among six others, has been accused of causing financial losses to the national exchequer by violating procurement rules in the purchase of a piece of land in Korangi for the NICL. On Tuesday, the former federal minister was granted a 10-day protective bail by the Sindh High Court (SHC).

“[The] FIA has submitted the charge sheet against Amin Fahim and former commerce secretary Salman Ghani for appointing Muhammad Ayaz Khan Niazi as chairman of the NCIL, a man who purchased 10 acres of land in Korangi at an exorbitant price,” FIA Additional D-G Law Azam Khan said.

The land was purchased at a cost of Rs900 million, whereas the market price was Rs482 million. Out of the balance amount, Rs41 million was credited to Amin Fahim’s account.

The FIA official added that almost all NICL money had been recovered in the Karachi episode of the scam.

Reading from a report submitted by the D-G FIA, Khan said that in a meeting of the agency’s high-ups with the current commerce secretary, it had been decided by both the FIA and NICL to pursue the cases in trial courts, and also to get the bails of the accused cancelled by the high courts.

The chief justice expressed surprise over the bail granted to Mohsin  Habib Warraich, allegedly involved in the of purchase of costly land in Lahore for the NICL, in absentia by the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

The judge questioned how this could be, as the accused was not even present before the court.

Khan said the IHC judge had cited two cases where the SC had granted bail in absentia. The recent example of the SHC granting bail to Pervaiz Musharraf was also put forth.

During the proceedings, the bench expressed annoyance over the FIA’s delays in investigation, despite the fact that former FIA Sindh director Moazzam Jah, who first investigated the NICL case, had already unearthed pertinent details of the corruption that had taken place.

In this vein, Chief Justice Chaudhry asked D-G FIA to consider departmental action against Sindh FIA officials for not concluding their probes against Amin Fahim.

Before adjourning proceedings for two weeks, the bench directed Khan to submit a comparative report about investigations first conducted in Karachi by Moazzam Jah and, later, by Sindh FIA Director Abdul Malik.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 4^th, 2013.