The principal accused in a 5 billion rupees real estate scam, Chairman of National Insurance Corporation (NICL), has left the country for Dubai with the help of unknown influentials, sources told Business Recorder.
The reports of Niazi's departure from the country came at a time when he was about to be arrested by Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), which had been directed by the Supreme Court to investigate the allegations of massive irregularities in NICL, and submit report by November 30, 2010.
"I have received credible information that Niazi has fled the country with the connivance of some key people in the federal capital to hide their own complicity in the 5 billion rupees irregularities," said one parliamentarian.
However, Niazi's escape from the country raises questions about the performance of the official agencies like the FIA whose officials perform duties at all airports.
"I am convinced that Mr. Niazi received assistance to successfully escape from the country," he added.
Background interviews with officials and political analysts suggest that those in position of power felt that the arrest of NICL chairman would have brought their own role in the scam into public knowledge which, in turn, may have led to political upheaval in the country.
The FIA is probing billions of rupees of scams--from Lahore to Dubai--on the orders of Supreme Court, subsequent to the registration of a criminal case against Niazi and his accomplices who approved the flawed deals.
A parliamentary committee, headed by Senator Ilyas Bilour, and three subcommittees are also investigating the suspect real estate deals executed by the NICL Chairman, now on forced leave. However, the ill-gotten money also went into the pockets of some political figures, including former Minister for Defence Production Habib Ullah Warraich, with links to the Punjab Bank scam and a close relative of a sitting Federal Minister.
The political personality with links to the Punjab Bank scam is also out of Pakistan, due to fear of arrest.
Earlier, there were speculations that Ayaz Niazi was hiding in Islamabad at the residence of a political bigwig.
Unconfirmed reports also suggest that the heads of Senate subcommittees, which are probing NICL real estate deals, are being influenced through their top leadership. However, Senators Ishaq Dar and Haroon Akhtar told Business Recorder that they would not succumb to any pressure from anybody, and would complete the task without any fear.
On Wednesday last, the agency arrested seven members of the Board of Directors and Investment Committee due to their alleged involvement in real estate deals, spreading from Lahore to Dubai. Prominent among those who were arrested are Zahid Hussain, Muhammad Zahoor, Azhar Naqvi, Sheikh Ijaz, Ayub Butt, Naveed Hasan Zaidi and Hur Riahi Gardezi.
Muhammad Amin Qasim Dada and Javed Syed are also among key accused. However, they have not been arrested so far.
Last week, the FIA had detained Habib Ullah Warraich and Akram Warraich. A Senate subcommittee, which met on October 20, 2010, had directed the Commerce Ministry, in the strongest words, to put the names of the property sellers on ECL, besides freezing their accounts.
The federal government has transferred FIA Director Zafar Ahmad Qureshi, who was ready to handcuff the principal culprit of the NICL scam.