Forex fraud: NAB issues summons to federal minister, associates

Bureau also requests accountability court to freeze properties of alleged swindlers.

LAHORE: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Punjab has summoned the Federal Minister for Privatisation Waqar Ahmed Khan and a former inspector-general of police and their associates for their alleged involvement in the misappropriation of the most valuable property auctioned in a Forex scam.

Sheikh Ayub and his son Mohsin Ayub set up a firm, Aglam Global Links, promising investors lucrative profits. This proved an irresistible proposition in times of high inflation, which is apparent from the fact that they managed to accumulate Rs1.38 billion from 85 people.

After they disappeared from the scene, those affected by the scam approached NAB for the recovery of their savings. The Financial Crime Investigation Wing (FCIW) of NAB Punjab initiated the inquiry.

NAB filed a reference in the accountability court against Ayub and his son for criminal breach of trust and monetary theft and arrested them.

The bureau requested the court to freeze their properties in order to settle the claims of the people whom they had cheated, The Express Tribune has learnt.

Ayub informed NAB that Khan and former IGP Punjab, who is now serving on the Punjab Public Service Commission, as well as former attorney-general of Pakistan Justice (retd) Malik Qayyum and their associates used their influence to transfer the property in other people’s names despite its being cautioned by NAB on the court’s orders.

The FCIW Punjab has issued notices to the accused under Section 19 of the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO) 1999 for including them in the interrogation on December 30.

Director of NAB’s Awareness and Prevention Division Punjab Atiqur Reman confirmed that NAB has summoned 15 individuals.

NAB has issued summons to former senator Gulzar Ahmed, his sons, federal minister for privatisation Senator Waqar Ahmed, Amar Ahmed, former attorney-general of Pakistan Justice Malik Qayyum, former inspector-general of Police Punjab Azhar Hassan Nadeem, former provincial minister Tikka Muhammad Iqbal, SP Mukhtar Tikka, Hamad Tikka, Brigadier (retd) Tahir Saeed, Muhammad Latif alias Teefi Butt, Haseeb Azha, Jehangir alias Jugnu Butt, Riffat Asghar and Aftab Majeed.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 30^th, 2010.