The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued directives to Inam Akbar, the owner of an advertising company, to appear before the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Karachi, on July 14 (today). A two-member bench of Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali and Justice Azmat Saeed Sheikh resumed the hearing of a Rs 6 billion advertising corruption scam in Sindh province.
During the course of proceedings, the bench observed that the NAB is catching only small fishes as it has not apprehended those involved in billions of rupees corruption. Justice Azmat Saeed Sheikh remarked that the top anti-graft body has arrested a few people involved in four or five lacs rupees' corruption case whereas it has failed to issue arrest warrants for people involved in huge corruption.
Justice Sheikh further observed that the NAB has legalised corruption as it arrests the accused and then acquits them when they deposit the embezzled amount voluntarily. He said if the NAB has to recover the amount only then rest of the procedure of investigation and trial should be carried out by police or Federal Investigation Agency. Prosecutor General (PG) of the NAB, Waqas Qadeer Dar, contended that law has empowered the NAB to conduct investigation and trial of accused of corruption saying out of seven companies which had received funds, four companies have returned money through a voluntarily process.
Dar submitted the said process was also in progress of getting back amounts from the personnel of information department who were involved in the scam, adding that under the recovery of "fifty percent formula", half of the amount was being paid by the advertisement companies and the personnel of information department on the basis of invoice receipts.
The PG NAB further informed the court that out of the remaining three companies, one company owned by Inam Akbar was not co-operating with the Bureau whereas names of heads of two more advertising companies have been forwarded to Ministry for Interior for their placement on Exit Control List (ECL). The Chief Justice, however, questioned when the names of other accused were not put on the ECL then why the authority was insisting for putting the name of only one person on ECL. Yasin Azad and Raja Musqat, the counsel for the accused Inam Akbar, pleaded that their client is ready to appear before the NAB provided he is not be arrested. To which Justice Azmat Saeed Sheik said the NAB doesn't arrest the accused so there was no need of court's order in the current matter. The hearing of case was adjourned till July 18.