Security officials escort Tauqeer Sadiq to the accountability court. PHOTO: INP
After a nearly two-year-long chase, the elusive former chief of the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra), Tauqeer Sadiq, was brought back to Pakistan and presented before an accountability court on Tuesday which, in turn, sent him on a 14-day physical remand.
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) will now investigate Sadiq over Rs83 billion he and his accomplices allegedly embezzled during his tenure as Ogra chairman. A senior NAB official, however, said there were slim chances of the looted money being recovered from Sadiq.
Sadiq was formally handed over to a NAB team in Abu Dhabi on Monday, after a local court ordered his deportation from the Gulf state, where he had been in hiding for over a year. The former Ogra chief was brought back Tuesday morning and presented before the accountability court in Islamabad.
A court has already convicted Sadiq in the case and sentenced him to three years in jail. His appointment as Ogra chief was declared illegal in 2011 by the Supreme Court, after which he fled to Afghanistan and from there to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Before the accountability court, Sadiq denied all allegations and accused NAB officials of pressurising and torturing him. “They are trying to extract statements from me and want me to name President Asif Ali Zardari as an accomplice in the alleged corruption scandal,” he alleged.
The NAB investigating officer denied Sadiq’s accusations. The court ordered an immediate medical check-up to ascertain if Sadiq was tortured. But medics at the Poly Clinic Hospital declared him physically fit.
Investigations for the recovery of Rs83 billion will begin on Wednesday, but officials have no high hopes. “Only some money would be recoverable from individuals, while the remaining amount will stay with the gas companies that paid the money,” said the senior NAB official who spoke to The Express Tribune.
However, he added that 17% of around Rs 44 billion the bureau would recover would go to the national exchequer.
The official denied Sadiq had disclosed the names of people who had ordered or helped him during and after the corruption scandal. Former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani was summoned by NAB investigators on July 2, 2013 but he didn’t show up.
Sadiq was accused of misconduct and corruption in the award of licences for CNG stations. According to the prosecution, Sadiq and co-accused had issued 306 licences for new CNG stations during the fiscal 2009-10 and 170 licences in 2010-11 flouting a 2008 government ban.
The NAB official said the bureau had earlier submitted an interim reference before the accountability court. The final reference will be submitted after completing the ongoing investigations, he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 10th, 2013.
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@Shaheryar: Thanks for the clarification. But still the reporter cannot be absolved for highlighting a single aspect comprising only 5% of the alleged corruption. For such a high profile case in depth analysis must be presented based on verifiable facts and figures.
Only 3 years in prison? If that's not promoting corruption on a big scale I don't know what is!
@Hasan Mehmood: Sorry to say that your understanding is incorrect.
PKR 83 billion is being alleged to have been made through various measures like gas price changing mechanism (a key role of OGRA, a regulatory authority) as well as many others. Illegal sanctioning of 476 or so odd CNG stations through taking a bribe of PKR 10 M per station (despite a government ban imposed in 2008) is just another "work of art" by Taquir Sadiq & his criminal friends--------which of course is a long list of individuals, some of them might be at higher places even today. All should be brought to justice. Not him alone.
So CNG licenses were not the only wrong doing by him. There were many other.
So far so good, its a small step in the right direction.................... if he talks and provides names and then if the justice system behaves responsibly it would be a big step in the right direction.
ET: This is bad reporting. How does the author know only 17% of money will be recovered.Is he an astrologer or what. Where is the author getting his numbers from?.
A senior NAB official, however, said there were slim chances of the looted money being recovered from Sadiq. A good plot for bollywood movie.......????
Race for justice or Mockery of justice? An accused who can be punished with a jail term if proved guilty is seen handcuffed whereas the one who has been indicted for crimes, more than one or two of course, bearing capital punishment has never been handcuffed
Extremely poor reporting. Are we to believe that Tauqir Sadiq got 83 Billion in kickbacks for illegal sanctioning of 306 CNG stations i.e 271 Million / CNG Station? Makes no sense whatsoever.
Moderater ET: Please publish and let reporter clarify. Thanks