Sugar scam can ultimately land in NAB's lap

The government is likely to hand over alleged sugar subsidy and price hike scam to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) after the "Probe Commission's" final report is submitted to the Prime Minister scheduled on April 25, 2020.

Well-informed sources told Business Recorder this has been hinted by the FIA officials' who are questioning the staff of different under scurrility sugar mills. However, the Punjab food department official is being spared.

Ten teams, ten members each, have been constituted to raid, question and scrutinize the record of those mills.

The mills which are under scrutiny are as follows ;(i) Alliance Sugar Mills, Ubrau, Ghotki; (ii) JDW III Sugar Mills Ghotki; (iii) Al-Arabia Sugar Mills, Shahpur Saddar, Sargodha; (iv) Hamza Sugar Mills, Khanpur, Rahimyar Khan; (v) Al-Moiz II Sugar Mills, Mianwali; (vi) Al-Moiz Sugar Mill, Chashma, D. I. Khan; (vii) Hamza Sugar Mill, Jhang; (viii) JWD I Sugar Mill, Rahimyar Khan; (ix) Hunza Sugar Mill, Faisalabad; and (x) JWD II Sadiqabad, RahimYar Khan.

FIA has also sent ID card numbers of 192 individuals, probably sugar dealers, to State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) requesting it to direct commercial banks to search all accounts against the CNICs and NTN numbers and report their accounts to the Commission, along with statements of accounts from September 1, 2017 till March 26, 2020.

There is a strong perception within the industry that this campaign has been launched specially to discredit Jahangir Khan Tareen through a troika in Prime Minister's Office. The names of Azam Khan, Barrister Shehzad Akbar and Wajiz Zia are being mentioned behind this move.

A list of several bank accounts containing bank/branch names and account numbers have also been sent to the SBP.

A format of cash transactions sent to SBP requesting that while asking the requisite information to advise all the commercial banks to provide details of cash transactions above Rs 500,000 for individual accounts and Rs 1 million for company accounts as per given format.

SBP has also been requested to advise the banks to provide details of all clearing and transfer transactions in reported accounts of above Rs 1 million.

The Minister for Railways, Sheikh Rashid Ahmed hinted that sugar subsidy and price hike will be given to NAB after sugar export data is probed. He maintained that 68 per cent of exported sugar was destined for Afghanistan, which is considered as a "fake exports" destination. Sugar Dealers Association has also threatened to stop brokerage activity as the members of probe teams are accused of using abusive language and torturing its members.

Insiders claim that the message of brokers was sent to Wajid Zai, Director General FIA, Wajid Zia, Chairman of the Inquiry Commission who onsent it to Barrister Shahzad Akbar, Prime Minister Special Assistant on Asset Recovery Unit and Accountability and Interior Ministry who then showed the message to Prime Minister. The Prime Minister was reportedly furious which he conveyed in the recent cabinet meeting.

According to media reports, in the cabinet meeting held on April 7, 2020, harsh words were exchanged between Minister for Communications, Murad Saeed and Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, Asad Umar who was Minister for Finance when the ECC accorded approval to export 1 million tons of sugar.

Some of the sugar industry people argue that had 0.3 million tons of sugar not been exported to China the current price hike could have been averted. Insiders claim that the representatives of sugar industry are holding a video conference almost every day to finalise a strategy to deal with the government's current move to pressure the industry. A formal reply is expected to be sent to the FIA on inquiry report within a couple of days.