OGRA scam: NAB recovers another Rs54b from Tauqir Sadiq

Accountability court extends physical remand for three more days.

ISLAMABAD:

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Tuesday informed the Accountability Court that the authority had successfully recovered Rs54 billion from the accused in the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) scam.

During the course of the hearing, NAB prosecutor Barrister Saeedur Rehman informed the court that the authorities had managed to get back Rs54.85 billion from the former Ogra chairman Tauqir Sadiq, who is the main accused in the Rs82 billion scam.

Sadiq, who had fled to Dubai, has been in NAB custody since July 10.

Saeedur Rehman told the Accountability Court Judge Muhammad Bashir that Sadiq had transferred Dhs0.1 million into different banks of Dubai. The prosecutor said that all the money was recovered along with three cheques in Sadiq’s name.

He further stated that the authority had recorded statements of the witnesses from the gas regulatory authority; however, the investigations were still on. The lawyer requested the court to extend the remand for ten more days to give the authorities some more time for investigation.

Sadiq’s counsel, Sardar Asmatullah Khan, however, opposed this on the grounds that the period of his client’s 64-day physical remand was over and now he should be released because the authorities had failed to prove anything substantial against him.

The defence lawyer claimed that there was no need to hold Sadiq in custody any longer. He requested the court to release him on bail. Overlooking this plea, the court further extended Sadiq’s physical remand for another three days and directed the authority to produce him before the court on September 13.

On August 30, the NAB had recovered Rs3.2 billion from the accused, which included Rs13.4 million recovered from his business partner, Mian Ashfaq.

According to the interim reference submitted by NAB before the court, Sadiq, Mansoor Muzaffar Ali, Mir Kamal Farid Bijarani Marri and Jawad Jameel were involved in the scam.

On Nov 25 last year, the apex court struck down Sadiq’s appointment as Ogra chairman.  He was taken in custody and brought back to Pakistan by NAB officials on July 9.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 11^th, 2013.