NAB ends probe under Section 31-B of National Accountability Act, 2022, as amended by PDM govt.
- The NAB meeting, held under the chairmanship, decides to close the cases.
- The investigation into the Sharif Trust case was authorized in 2000.
- Five other cases against different people were also closed.
ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has closed six corruption investigations, including the Sharif Trust case filed against Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif and his family members.
In a statement issued by the accountability body, the decision was taken during the bureau’s executive board meeting (EBM) held on January 1, 2024, chaired by NAB Chairman Lieutenant General ( retired) Nazir Ahmed Butt.
NAB said it has obtained approval to end the Sharif Trust case. The investigation into the case was authorized on March 31, 2000 and the complaint alleged that the Sharif family had received large sums of money through illicit means in the Sharif Trust.
Furthermore, it was claimed that the trust accounts had not been subject to audit scrutiny and that funds had been misappropriated. The allegations further included acquisition of assets by the Sharif family under the guise of benami properties held in the name of the trust.
In its report submitted to the Supreme Court, the joint investigation team (JIT) formed to probe the Panama Papers criticized the NAB for delaying the investigation into the Sharif Trust case without adequate justification.
The JIT recommended that NAB be directed to take prompt action to complete the investigation.
Now, the office has ended the investigation under Section 31-B of the National Accountability Act, 2022, as amended by the Shehbaz Sharif-led Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)-led government.
Section 31B states: “Withdrawal and termination of pending proceedings: (1) Before the filing of a reference, the Chairman of the NAB, in consultation with the Attorney General, may, taking into account the totality of the facts, circumstances and evidence, withdraw or terminate partially, totally, conditionally or unconditionally any procedure under this Law if said procedure is unjustified.
“(2) After the submission of a referral, if the Chairman of the NAB, in consultation with the Attorney General, considers that the referral is partially or wholly unjustified, he may recommend to the Court its approval when the matter is pending. reference may be withdrawn or terminated in whole or in part, and upon such withdrawal or termination: (i) if done before a charge has been laid, the accused shall be acquitted in respect of such offense or offences; and (ii) if does after the accusation has been made, he will be acquitted of such crime or crimes.”
Apart from that, NAB also closed the Safe City corruption case against Islamabad Inspector General (IG) Akbar Nasir Khan and the Park Enclave Housing Society case against Capital Development Authority officials/officials ( CDA).
The accountability body also ended investigations against federal government officials over illegal appointments of favored persons, investigations against Shahid Malik, Shahbaz Yaseen Malik, Saima Shehbaz Malik and others.
