NAB paid legal advisers Rs349m: report

Rs24 million spent on law firms for exclusively pursuing a case in Swiss courts.

ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) paid Rs349.7 million to legal experts between 2003 and 2009 without gaining any success, The Express Tribune has learnt.

Of the total, Rs292 million was spent on foreign law firms contesting various cases, including a high-profile money laundering case in Switzerland. Another Rs58 million was spent on 117 legal consultants in Pakistan for contesting thousands of cases in trial courts between 2006 and 2009.

According to a report compiled by NAB’s Departmental Account Committee, exclusively obtained by The Express Tribune, as much as Rs24 million was spent on Pakistani law firms in addition to the hefty fees to foreign law firms for exclusively pursuing a case in Swiss courts.

NAB’s internal investigation was carried out on the request of the finance ministry under constitutional  clause 169.

The payments to foreign ‘law firms’ engaged by the NAB were made through the Ehtesab Cell’s Union Bank of Switzerland (account # 235.412500.61 K UBS), in Berne, Switzerland, and a United National Bank London account (0001-021441-001).

The report said that the services of Kendall Freeman of the UK was engaged for Pakistan  versus Benazir Bhutto, Baker Associates, UK Intelligence held in the Channel Island, Asset Sharing Agreement, Designated Territories and Minwalla, Python and Peter, Swiss (record not provided) 12 4, M/s J Olleros, Spanish (record not provided), M/s Lalive (record not provided).

The M/s Python and Peter Sheferly engaged on fee of $1,908,982, M/s Kendall Freeman, £1,266,066.13, M/s Baker Associates, £201,919.08 22,704,509.64, M/s J Olleros, Spanish €53,001.50 4,122,353.74 and M/s Lalive was engaged for an amount of $42,291.

Guidelines for appointing consultants were issued by the Establishment Division’s MS Wing under letter number UO No.11-3/2001-MSW-III on Jan 25, 2002. The division finally approved the hiring of these consultants.

Finance Division’s letter U.O. No.322-DFA (Cab)/AO/2007, stated that the then NAB chairman, Nawid Ahsan, was delegated power to make payments on account of law charges.

This was approved by the finance division for the remuneration to be offered to the attorneys and lawyers hired for prosecuting cases pertaining to NAB.

The DAC report further showed that lawyers were hired in violation of set rules. The management paid Rs53 million to legal consultants hired on contracts out of head A-03917-Law Charges during 2006-07 and 2007-08.

Some 117 consultants, most of whom left the bureau by March last year, earned million of rupees without budget approval by the finance division.

They were paid from regular budget under head A-03917-Law charges without the existence of any provision for incurring expenditure on the pay of consultants. They were engaged to prepare references in accordance with set legal requirements.

The NAB continued to charge expenses to this head of account in good faith. While such law officers performed desk duties in the organisation, they were also required to act as prosecutors and appear in courts. Some prominent names, who according to the report, incurred more pay than the recommended are the following:

Irfan Qadir, a former NAB prosecutor-general, incurred Rs11 million, including Rs9 million in three years in the 2003-06 period with Rs2,500,00 with allowance, and later this year earning Rs2 million when he was removed on the direction of the Supreme Court.

Abdul Baseer Qureshi, senior prosecutor, earned Rs9.6 million in two year (2006-10), incurring a salary of Rs200,000 a month.

Malik Muhammad Afzal, deputy prosecutor-general, earned Rs4.5 million by taking Rs187, 500 per month salary in four years.

Mirza Shehzad Akbar, legal adviser, earned Rs4.8 million in two years, drawing a salary of Rs100,000 per month.

Dr Asghar Ahmad Rana, Add PC, earned PGA Rs3.2 million since four year by drawing a salary of Rs 80,000.

Mirza Shahzad Akbar, legal officer, gained Rs4.8 million since 2006-10 on a salary of Rs100,000 a month.

Ms Madina M Khan, legal consultant, incurred Rs3 million, drawing a monthly salary of Rs62,500.

Ahmed Hayat Lak, legal consultant, incurred Rs3 million in the last four years earning Rs 62,500 monthly.

Ahmer Bilal Soofi, legal consultant, earned Rs1.8 million in the last four years earning Rs40,000 per month.

Fakhar Hayat, legal consultant, earned Rs2.6 million in four years, drawing Rs55,000 a month.

Naveed Saeed Khan, legal consultant gained Rs2.4 million, drawing Rs50,000 a month.

Bilal Saeed, legal consultant earned Rs2.4 million, drawing Rs50,000 a month.

Jamshed Ahmed Hamid, legal consultant, earned Rs2.4 million, drawing Rs50,000 a month.

Lt-Col (retd) Iqbal Hashmi, legal consultant, earned Rs2.4 million on a monthly salary of Rs50,000.

Ghazanfar Abbas Sandeela, legal consultant, earned Rs2.6 million on a salary of Rs55,000 a month.

Umar Farooq, legal consultant, earned Rs2.6 million on a salary of Rs55,000.

Imtiazullah Khan Shinwari, legal consultant, earned Rs2.6 million on a salary of Rs55,000 a month.

Barrister Ibrahim Shahid, assistant prosecutor, earned Rs1.6 million, drawing a salary of Rs35,000 a month.

The departmental account committee report did not mention the salary or any other information about the ousted NAB chief Nawid Ahsan, who resigned from his office a few months ago.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 29^th, 2010.