An accountability court on Wednesday dismissed acquittal applications of former railways minister Khwaja Saad Rafiq and his brother Khwaja Salman Rafiq in Paragon City scam. The court held that the applications were not maintainable and directed the prosecution to present its witnesses on next hearing. Khwaja Saad Rafiq announced to challenge the decision before the Lahore High Court.
In the applications, the Khwaja brothers had questioned the jurisdiction of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to file reference against them. Their counsel argued that the disputes regarding a private business did not fall within the jurisdiction of the NAB. They said there was no allegation of corruption or misusing national exchequer against the petitioners being public office holders. The counsel pleaded that Security & Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) was the competent forum to look into such matters under Companies Act 2017. They had asked the court to set aside the indictment of the petitioners and acquit them of the charges.
The NAB in the reference alleged that the Khwaja brothers wrongfully gained Rs 18.2 million approximately from M/s Paragon City Pvt. Limited in their bank accounts. It said the Khwaja brothers through their "benamidars" and with the abetment of former MPA Qaiser Amin Butt and Nadeem Zia established a housing project and cheated public at large and obtained illegal financial benefits from the society.
Both the brothers were arrested by the NAB on Dec 11, 2018, after the high court dismissed their pre arrest bail petitions as withdrawn. They remained in the bureau's custody till February 02, 2019 before the trial court sent them to jail on judicial remand.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2019
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