NICL scam: FIA team to transfer principal accused to Lahore

The team has received permission for the interprovincial transfer of ex-NICL chief.

LAHORE: The special judge (central) Lahore issued orders for producing ex-Chairman National Insurance Company Limited (NICL) Ayaz Khan Niazi on the request of Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), Lahore and a two-member team of FIA Lahore reached Karachi on Friday to shift Niazi to the Punjab capital, The Express Tribune has learnt.

The FIA Lahore team includes deputy director FIA corporate crime circle Javed Shah and assistant director FIA anti-corruption circle Muhammad Ahmed Chaudhry. They took off from Lahore Friday morning via PIA’s flight PK 315 at 8:30am.

Niazi, the proclaimed offender and the main accused in the NICL case, is wanted by FIA Lahore in two cases.

The FIA Punjab chapter had already sent the request to the Sindh home department through home secretary Punjab, along with the court’s order. The same record was also dispatched to director general and FIA director, Sindh chapter.

The FIA Lahore team received the permission for transit remand of Niazi from the courts by Friday evening. The permission is mandatory for interprovincial transfer of any accused, according to sources. The accused will be transferred to Lahore today (Saturday).

In the scam involving dubious purchase of 803 kanals and 19 marla of non-commercial land for Rs1.68 billion, the FIA Punjab chapter has so far recovered an amount of Rs1.5 billion. Meanwhile in the second case involving purchase of commercial land by NICL measuring 20 kanal and 2 marlas for Rs1.653 billion, a sum of Rs710 million has so far been recovered, claimed the FIA officials.

The remaining amount of Rs186.3 million in the first case FIR No 24/2010 is expected to be recovered from the accused by today while the remaining amount in second case FIR No. 29/2010 would be recovered by December 31, 2010, said the officials.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 11^th, 2010.