Yousaf Raza Gilani. PHOTO: FILE
An anti-corruption court on Monday issued non-bailable arrest warrants for former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and former commerce minister Amin Fahim for their alleged involvement in seven cases relating to a multi-billion trade subsidy scam.
Gilani, who served as prime minister from 2008 to 2012, along with ex-commerce minister Makhdoom Amin Fahim, allegedly granted billions of rupees in subsidies to bogus trading companies.
During Monday’s hearing, the court issued arrest warrants for former premier Gilani, the then commerce minister Fahim and several officials of the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) after the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) submitted its final charge sheet in the cases.
Both Gilani and Fahim, stalwarts of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), were declared absconders in all seven cases by the court.
The judge of the special federal anti-corruption court-I, Mohammad Azeem, accepted the final charge sheets for hearing and issued NBWs for the absconders and directed law enforcing authorities to produce them before the court till June 17.
The FIA has charged the PPP leaders with the same offence which it had mentioned in the 11 charge-sheets submitted earlier before the court.
The first charge sheet was submitted on May 29 and subsequently the court had issued warrants for nine suspects, including Gilani and Fahim, in cases pertaining to the subsidy scam.
According to the final charge sheets, filed in seven cases against the veteran PPP leaders the investigation body projected the misappropriated amount at Rs96,086,622, Rs11,968,834, Rs19,608,620, Rs14, 432,244, Rs12,900,114, Rs11,824,580 and Rs17,960,061, respectively.
Besides the PPP duo, former deputy secretary to prime minister’s secretariat, Mohammad Zubair, Farhan Junejo, Faisal Siddique, Maher Haroon Rasheed, Mian Tariq, Zafar Hussain, Noman Siddiqui, Syed Mohibullah Shah and others were also declared absconders in the charge sheets.
The suspects have been booked for their alleged involvement in approving and disbursing fraudulent trade subsidies amounting to billions of rupees to several fake companies through fictitious claims and backdated cheques.
According to court officials, several cases related to the trade subsidy scam against former chairman, ex-chief executive and other senior TDAP officials are pending before the court.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 3rd, 2014.
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