ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has seized all record of the Directorate of Municipal Administration (DMA) in connection with the ongoing inquiry against former mayor of Islamabad Sheikh Ansar Aziz.

Sources said that the bureau had launched an inquiry on receipt of a complaint, alleging that Aziz had caused Rs 50 billion losses to the public exchequer by allegedly committing corruption in mobile towers, billboards’ taxes, and tax evasions.

The NAB has received complaints that Ansar Aziz caused loss of billions of rupees to the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI), and the government, through illegal mobile towers and billboards’ tax evasion, and using delaying tactics to receive taxes, sources said.

Aziz who is affiliated with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) resigned as Mayor Islamabad few days ago in protest, accusing the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government of interfering in the local bodies of Islamabad.

According to a statement issued by the NAB, the bureau has rejected reports that the anti-graft body has given mayor Islamabad a clean chit in the ongoing probe of alleged misuse of authority, and in corruption charges.

The probe against the former mayor Islamabad is under process as per the law.

Meanwhile, NAB Chairman former Justice Javed Iqbal reviewed overall performance of the bureau during a meeting.

The meeting was informed that the NAB had received 51,591 complaints in 2019 of which 46,123 had been concluded as per law.

The NAB had approved verification of 1,464 complaints in 2019, of which complaint verification of 1,362 had been completed, the NAB statement said.

The official statement said that the bureau had approved 574 inquiries and cleared 217 investigations in 2019.

The NAB had completed 658 inquires in 2019, it says.

It says that the bureau in 2019, filed 206 corruption references in various accountability courts. The bureau has recovered Rs363 billion in the tenure of the present chairman NAB.

According to the statement, the NAB disposed of 57 references out of 179 mega corruption cases in accordance with the law.

Currently, out of 179 mega corruption cases, 10 inquiries and 15 investigations are in the process of completion. The conviction rate of corruption cases in the accountability courts is 68.8 percent.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020