The main charge against Sadiq is receiving Rs39 billion from consumers in connivance with officials of Sui Northern Gas Pipeline (SNGPL) and Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC). DESIGN: SAMRA AAMIR
An accountability court on Monday indicted former Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) chairman Tauqeer Sadiq, stockbroker Aqeel Karim Dhedhi and others in the Rs76.6 billion OGRA scam.
The main charge against Sadiq is receiving Rs39 billion from consumers in connivance with officials of Sui Northern Gas Pipeline (SNGPL) and Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC), during his tenure as chairman.
NAB Prosecutor Raja Khurram Ijaz informed the court that NAB had submitted a compete charge sheet against the accused and had requested that they be indicted so that formal proceedings against them could be initiated.
NAB has filed two references — one relating to the illegal appointment of Sadiq as Ogra chairman in 2009, and another relating to corruption and irregularities in the organisation during his chairmanship. According to NAB, Sadiq is also accused of manipulating the market to raise the share prices cost of SNGPL and SSGC from Rs19 to Rs45, before they normalised and fell back to the original price.
The others accused include former Ogra board members Mansoor Muzaffar Ali and Mir Kamal Mari, finance official Jawad Jameel, former staff officer Dewan Ziaur Rehman Farooqi, former Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) managing director Abdur Rashid Lone, and former Ogra staffers Zohair Siddique, Azeem Iqbal Siddique, Arsalan Iqbal, and Yousaf J Ansari.
Former premiers’ indictment deferred
Meanwhile, the court also summoned two former premiers — Yousaf Raza Gilani and Raja Pervez Ashraf — on June 4, when they will formally be indicted in the second Ogra scam reference.
During the course of the hearing, Advocate Amjad Iqbal Qureshi, counsel for the two premiers, sought more time from the court for pleading the case. Accountability judge Muhammad Bashir accepted his plea and directed NAB to produce them on June 4.
The former Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) government premiers are accused of illegally appointing Sadiq.
Gilani approved the appointment of Sadiq as the prime minister and chairman of the authority, while Ashraf was the minister for water and power at the time and also head of the selection committee which chose Sadiq.
According to the NAB investigation, Tauqeer Sadiq issued over 500 licences for Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) stations and obtained Rs300,000 as commission for each.
On November 25, 2012, the apex court struck down the appointment of Sadiq, who then fled to the UAE, from where he was taken into custody and brought back to Pakistan.
On March 12, 2014, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) granted bail to Sadiq against two surety bonds worth Rs1 million each.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 27th, 2014.
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