Modarba scandal: Victims seek compensation from confiscated property
Accountability court hands down 36 years to three convicted of embezzlement.
RAWALPINDI:
Complainants in a Modaraba case have petitioned a special court saying they be paid from the money generated by auctioning the confiscated property of one of the accused.
The accountability court has asked the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to file a reply to the petition by November 18. It ordered NAB to also furnish details of the confiscated property and the amount generated from it.
Around 18 complainants in the scandal informed the court that the money they lost could be paid from the amount being generated from the property of one of the accused. They said NAB had confiscated properties of all the accused and was generating money from it. 17 of the complainants hailed from Rawalpindi, while one belonged to Nowshera district.
A NAB official said the number of the affected people stands at 10,000, with most of them being seminary students, widows, and retirees.
NAB had earlier estimated the stolen money to be Rs550 million, but after investigation found that the amount was not less than Rs30 billion.
The seminary students, their families and other affected people were defrauded by some 40 prayer leaders.
Nizampur Cement Plant
The same court in another case on Tuesday awarded 36 years imprisonment to three people for embezzling funds of a private cement plant.
The convicts, identified as Nizampur Cement Plant former project director Muhammad Shafiq, Unique Agencies owner Jamil Malik, and Khalid Tariq Trading Company owner Brig (retd) Hamid Mahmood.
They were accused of embezzlement in a coal deal between the plant and the Government of Indonesia. They signed an agreement worth $2.4 million on behalf of the plant with the Indonesian government to import 40,000 metric tonnes of coal. Shafiq signed the MoU while Malik had to transport the coal to the plant.
Later, they illegally included Mehmood in the project, who, through bogus documents, got the amount released from the account of the plant. But instead of supplying the coal, they embezzled the funds.
NAB filed a reference in the court in 2006 against the suspects. They were arrested but later released on bail.
The accountability court announced the final judgment on Tuesday. The court also fined the accused and barred them from taking loans from any financial institution.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 12th, 2014.
Complainants in a Modaraba case have petitioned a special court saying they be paid from the money generated by auctioning the confiscated property of one of the accused.
The accountability court has asked the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to file a reply to the petition by November 18. It ordered NAB to also furnish details of the confiscated property and the amount generated from it.
Around 18 complainants in the scandal informed the court that the money they lost could be paid from the amount being generated from the property of one of the accused. They said NAB had confiscated properties of all the accused and was generating money from it. 17 of the complainants hailed from Rawalpindi, while one belonged to Nowshera district.
A NAB official said the number of the affected people stands at 10,000, with most of them being seminary students, widows, and retirees.
NAB had earlier estimated the stolen money to be Rs550 million, but after investigation found that the amount was not less than Rs30 billion.
The seminary students, their families and other affected people were defrauded by some 40 prayer leaders.
Nizampur Cement Plant
The same court in another case on Tuesday awarded 36 years imprisonment to three people for embezzling funds of a private cement plant.
The convicts, identified as Nizampur Cement Plant former project director Muhammad Shafiq, Unique Agencies owner Jamil Malik, and Khalid Tariq Trading Company owner Brig (retd) Hamid Mahmood.
They were accused of embezzlement in a coal deal between the plant and the Government of Indonesia. They signed an agreement worth $2.4 million on behalf of the plant with the Indonesian government to import 40,000 metric tonnes of coal. Shafiq signed the MoU while Malik had to transport the coal to the plant.
Later, they illegally included Mehmood in the project, who, through bogus documents, got the amount released from the account of the plant. But instead of supplying the coal, they embezzled the funds.
NAB filed a reference in the court in 2006 against the suspects. They were arrested but later released on bail.
The accountability court announced the final judgment on Tuesday. The court also fined the accused and barred them from taking loans from any financial institution.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 12th, 2014.