ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has recovered nearly Rs 3.25 billion in cash and property from former finance secretary of Balochistan Mushtaq Ahmed Raisani and contractor Sohail Majeed Shah under Plea Bargain (PB) deals in the mega corruption scandal.
While addressing a press conference in Islamabad on Thursday, NAB Director General Zahir Shah said both the accused had confessed their crime and were willing to return the amount got by them through corruption to the national exchequer.
The NAB, he had accepted Plea Bargain application of Mushtaq Raisani for depositing Rs 2.25 billion in cash and property with the national exchequer and that of Sohail Majeed for Rs 960 million.
Giving the break-up, he said Raisani had surrendered Rs 653.2 million in cash and 3.3 kilogram gold worth Rs 13.5 million. The cash and the gold were recovered during the NAB’s raid at his residence in May, he added.
Raisani, he said, had also offered two properties, the first one worth Rs 60 million, in Quetta and the other worth Rs 70 million located in Karachi’s Defence Housing Authority (DHA).
“These are in addition to the 11 properties already seized by the NAB from Raisani and Majeed,” Shah said.
The properties, including two commercial plazas, three houses of minimum 500 sq yards each and six valuable residential plots, he said, were situated in the DHA and purchased for Rs 1.25 billion.
“The NAB expects to sell the properties for Rs 1.5 billion to 2 billion,” he added.
Raisani had also surrendered two luxury cars, including a Mercedes Benz and a Toyota Grande, worth approximately Rs 8 million, Shah said.
The NAB DG said as per law the recovered amount was transferred to the national exchequer after the plea bargain was materialized.
“The NAB will not keep a penny from this… nor does it ever keep the recovered amount,” he replied to a question.
He said any amount recovered by the NAB was handed over to provincial governments via their chief secretaries. Hence, the total assets surrendered by Raisani were worth Rs 800 million while his 11 properties valued at Rs 1.25 billion.
Talking about the alleged corruption of Sohail Majeed Shah, contractor and frontman of Khalid Lango, ex-adviser to Chief Minister Balochistan, the NAB official said the accused had agreed to return all the money that he passed on to others.
“He has surrendered Rs 960 million which was routed through his accounts. He has also given some “valuable” houses,” he added.
He said of the total allocation of Rs. 6 billion for local government funds, Rs 3 billion was released.
“A huge amount of Rs 3 billion wad released for local government development but the lion’s share had allegedly been embezzled by Raisani and his cronies,” Zahir Shah said.
Source: APP
