Gold smuggling: Senior officials found involved in Rs1 billion racket
Names of some of those accused have been removed and only a few have been mentioned in official reports. The re-investigation of this case has started and a three-member team headed by FIA Additional Director Anti Corruption Circle (ACC) Waseem Ahmed Khan Sial has been constituted.
The Express Tribune has learnt that the matter has now reached the presidency as the Federal Minister for Food and Agriculture Nazar Muhammad Gondal complained to President Asif Ali Zardari that FIA Assistant Director Munawar Iqbal Ranjha is not involved in the scam. He also said that the real accused include then Gujranwala station commander Brigadier Javed Iqbal, Kamran Nawaz and Ali Ammar Abbasi, the latter being the brother of then Lahore customs collector Ali Suleman Abbasi. No action has been taken against them so far, he said.
Due to his alleged involvement, Ranjha was due to be transferred to Quetta. On the request of the minister and owing to the intervention of the president, Ranjha’s transfer has been withdrawn. He has now been asked to report to Lahore.
The accused, Imran Nawaz, was arrested red-handed by the FIA with 28.361 kilogrammes of gold. He had smuggled this consignment in a hand carry bag and had succeeded in getting clearance from the scanning machine installed at the airport.
Kamran Nawaz, brother of Imran Nawaz, has alleged that he gave a car and Rs4 million to Ranjha. He has also given applications to various government offices in which he has alleged that Brigadier Javed Iqbal and Abbasi received bribes in the form of cash (Rs2.5 million and Rs4 million respectively). They had all assured him that Imran Nawaz would be set free and the gold seized by the FIA will be returned.
The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Military Intelligence (MI) have also inquired into the matter and due to this, no position has been given to Ranjha. The customs collector has also been transferred from his post in Lahore, sources said.
Records obtained from the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan show that Hunain Enterprises, owned by Imran Nawaz, had gotten 21 permits to transfer gold ornaments to Dubai, weighing 250 kilogrammes.
The relevant authorities had not maintained any record regarding the return of gold in the same weight or foreign currency equivalent to it. Allied Bank Limited, Square Branch, records show that transactions amounting to Rs30 million have occurred during the last three years in Imran Nawaz and his company Hunain Enterprise’s account but there is no evidence regarding deposit of any foreign currency from abroad, further substantiating claims of foul play.
FIA has so far arrested Imran Nawaz who told investigators that he paid Rs70,000 to Abbasi as illegal gratification. Customs Superintendent Shah Faisal and Inspector Bashir Ahmed Chaudhry were released from jail due to confirmation of post-arrest bail by the trial court while Abbasi has not been arrested because he is on pre-arrest bail granted by the Lahore High Court.
FIA Punjab’s Director Zafar Ahmed Qureshi said that Kamran Nawaz the proprietor of Noble Enterprises Gujrawala has also been named as co-accused, adding, that even he has exported gold in bulk to Dubai.
Sources say that the gold exporting scam is continuing under the cover of legal permits and illegally all across the country. This ‘hawala-hundi’ system using gold is causing great loss to the national exchequer, they said.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 15th, 2010.
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