The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Monday handed Director General (DG) NAB Balochistan, Irfan Naeem Mangi, the responsibility of implementing the Supreme Court’s July 28 order on the Panama Papers case.
Mangi, who was part of the joint investigation team (JIT) that probed the Sharif family’s business dealings, will file references against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif; his children Hussain, Hassan and Maryam Nawaz; son-in-law Muhammad Safdar; former finance minister and father-in-law of his youngest daughter, Ishaq Dar, and others named by the Supreme Court in its Panamagate ruling.
The references will be filed against charges of corruption against the Sharif family, Ishaq Dar as well as Sheikh Saeed, Musa Ghani, Kashif Masood Qazi, Javaid Kiyani and Saeed Ahmed and other individuals who have any direct or indirect connection with the actions of the Sharif family.
Mangi, an officer in grade 20, was serving in Quetta as the director general of NAB, Balochistan before he was summoned to join the JIT. Prior to his posting in Quetta, he was the DG NAB of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and acting director (operations) of the bureau.
Mangi has expertise in probing white-collar crime and recently completed a national management course for promotion to grade 21.
The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by NAB Chairman Qamar Zaman Chaudhry. NAB’s DG Operations Zahir Shah and DG Rawalpindi Nasir Iqbal also attended the meeting.
The SC has ordered NAB to file five references against the accused within six weeks of the July 28 judgement and directed that proceedings be completed within six months.
Details of references approved by NAB
NAB has approved the filing of corruption references relating to the Avenfield properties, ie Flats No 16, 16-A, 17 and 17-A in Avenfield House, Mayfair, London.
The second corruption reference approved by NAB against Sharif family relates to Azizia Steel Company and Hill Metal Establishment. A third reference, relating to the 16 companies owned by the Sharif family abroad, has also been green-lighted.
However, NAB had not approved filing a reference regarding the Hudaibiya Paper Mills, reasoning that the case has already been decided by the Lahore High Court (LHC).
The fourth corruption reference approved on Monday is to be filed against former finance minister Ishaq Dar who, according to the report of joint investigation team (JIT), has accumulated wealth beyond his known sources of income.
The reference against Ishaq Dar was approved in light of the JIT report that said Dar’s wealth witnessed a staggering 91 times increase from Rs9 million to Rs831m in a short span of time.
According to a statement issued by NAB Headquarters, the references will be prepared on the basis of the material collected and referred by the JIT in its report, material available with Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and material which might subsequently become available in pursuance of the Mutual Legal Assistance requests sent by JIT to different jurisdictions.
Source: Dawn
