Haris Steel Mills case: Sheikh Afzal may win freedom soon
The accountability court has already ordered his release.
The Accountability Court, after accepting his plea bargain application, has already ordered Sheikh Afzal’s release. PHOTO: LHC.GOV.PK
LAHORE:
Principal accused in the multi-billion-rupee Bank of Punjab (BoP) loan scam, Sheikh Afzal, is likely to be set at liberty soon, after the Lahore High Court accepted his bail plea.
The Accountability Court, after accepting his plea bargain application, has already ordered Sheikh Afzal’s release.
Besides some other banks, Sheikh Afzal was also a defaulter of NIB bank but now the accused and the bank management have made a settlement over a sum of Rs300 million.
Following this settlement, his son, Sheikh Haris Afzal, filed an application with the LHC, arguing that since the accountability court had released Afzal in the BoP case, the National Accountability Bureau could not keep him detained.
The bench, comprising Justice Khalid Mehmood and Justice Khawaja Imtiaz, has now sought reply from the NAB and NIB (bank) officials on the matter by Wednesday (today).
According to National Accountability Ordinance (NAO) 1999 if the accused applies for plea bargain (PB), he has to deposit 34% of the entire liable amount as first installment and the two remaining installments of 33% each in shortest time possible.
Afzal was accused of embezzling Rs8.404 billion through credit facilities in the name of fake persons.
Bank of Punjab has raised objections to the plea bargain deal with the accused, stressing that it will go against the interest of the bank’s shareholders.
The stance of NAB in this regard is that Rs3.667 billion have already been recovered from the accused, while the remaining Rs4.737 billion would be paid over a period of five years. The BoP, on the other hand, argues that NAB has not included the amount of markup of the previous period and next five years. BoP’s letter states that without the markup the bank and its depositors will have to incur a total loss of Rs9.9 billion.
The NAB officials on the other hand said that chairman NAB has already taken a serious notice on the PB of Sheikh Afzal and directed the prosecution wing to review the plea.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 10th, 2013.
Principal accused in the multi-billion-rupee Bank of Punjab (BoP) loan scam, Sheikh Afzal, is likely to be set at liberty soon, after the Lahore High Court accepted his bail plea.
The Accountability Court, after accepting his plea bargain application, has already ordered Sheikh Afzal’s release.
Besides some other banks, Sheikh Afzal was also a defaulter of NIB bank but now the accused and the bank management have made a settlement over a sum of Rs300 million.
Following this settlement, his son, Sheikh Haris Afzal, filed an application with the LHC, arguing that since the accountability court had released Afzal in the BoP case, the National Accountability Bureau could not keep him detained.
The bench, comprising Justice Khalid Mehmood and Justice Khawaja Imtiaz, has now sought reply from the NAB and NIB (bank) officials on the matter by Wednesday (today).
According to National Accountability Ordinance (NAO) 1999 if the accused applies for plea bargain (PB), he has to deposit 34% of the entire liable amount as first installment and the two remaining installments of 33% each in shortest time possible.
Afzal was accused of embezzling Rs8.404 billion through credit facilities in the name of fake persons.
Bank of Punjab has raised objections to the plea bargain deal with the accused, stressing that it will go against the interest of the bank’s shareholders.
The stance of NAB in this regard is that Rs3.667 billion have already been recovered from the accused, while the remaining Rs4.737 billion would be paid over a period of five years. The BoP, on the other hand, argues that NAB has not included the amount of markup of the previous period and next five years. BoP’s letter states that without the markup the bank and its depositors will have to incur a total loss of Rs9.9 billion.
The NAB officials on the other hand said that chairman NAB has already taken a serious notice on the PB of Sheikh Afzal and directed the prosecution wing to review the plea.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 10th, 2013.