I’m glad the SC is moving to tackle the corruption issues. Next comes NRO. I hope no one will be spared.
BTW, shame on Dogar for using his authority as de-facto CJ to enrich himself and others. I hope they put his @ss in jail where he belongs along with rest of the choors.
From Dogar to Iftikhar Chaudhry — what a difference!
From Dogar to Iftikhar Chaudhry — what a difference!
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
HSM owner names big bribe takers Agrees to settle Rs9 billion Bank of Punjab claim
By Sohail Khan
ISLAMABAD: Sheikh Afzal, the main accused in the Rs9 billion financial scam at the Bank of Punjab (BoP), on Tuesday revealed before the bench of the Supreme Court that he paid Rs35 million to Parliamentary Affairs Minister Dr Babar Awan for winning the case in the apex court.
Sheikh Afzal, an absconder in the BoP scam, was recently arrested by the FIA from Malaysia along with his son Haris Afzal and was produced before a three-member bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.
The bench was hearing the Rs9 billion BoP scam. The BoP had granted a loan of Rs9 billion to the Haris Steel Mills (HSM), Lahore without fulfilling legal requirements and consequently the steel mills defaulted on the loan. The Bank of Punjab then filed a petition against the HSM.
Sheikh Afzal admitted to having given Rs5 million as fees to a senior advocate of the Supreme Court and minister for parliamentary affairs Dr Babar Awan besides giving him Rs35 million for assuring him to win the case.
It is pertinent to mention here that earlier former attorney general Sardar Latif Khosa was removed from his office after being charged with taking money for a favourable court verdict during the tenure of Justice (retd) Abdul Hameed Dogar.
The arrest of Sheikh Afzal became possible after the Supreme Court issued orders to the government to produce the accused in the court come what may. This is the biggest achievement of the judges led by Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry since their restoration following a popular movement. It perhaps never happened in this country that the accused of such a huge fraud was made to submit to law and agreed to pay the embezzled amount. This task was beyond imagination during the tenure of Abdul Hameed Dogar as chief justice when such people got away scot-free.
After the court hearing, Sheikh Afzal disclosed a list of top lawyers to the newsmen who extorted millions of rupees from him to clear his loan default cases from the courts.
He alleged that Dr Babar Awan took Rs40 million, Sharifuddin Pirzada Rs10 million, Malik Muhammad Qayyum, the then attorney general, Rs20 million and Ali Waseem, the son of Waseem Sajjad, Rs7.5 million.
Afzal said Dr Babar Awan took Rs5 million as fee and Rs35 million for getting a favourable verdict from the then Islamabad High Court.
In addition to these leading lawyers, Afzal said he had given Rs400-500 million to Hamesh Khan, former BoP president, Rs30 million to Aziz Ahmed, BoP Control Risk Manager, Rs50 million to Haroon Aziz, Rs10 million to Shoaib Qureshi, Rs40 million to Saleem Mirza, treasury head of the bank, Rs5 million to Fazil Asghar who helped him escape despite being on the Exit Control List (ECL).
Earlier, Shiekh Afzal tendered an apology to the court and submitted to surrender in the case by satisfying the Bank of Punjab in its claim against him.
He regretted over his loot and plunder but requested that his family members including his spouse and children should not be humiliated who were not involved in the fraud case.
He said his wife and 18-year-old son Hamza were also arrested from the Lahore airport. He confessed to getting Rs8 billion loan from the Bank of Punjab, adding 40 per cent was taken by his elder brother, Seth Yaqoob.
The court was informed that Sheikh Afzal had deposited $6 million to his son’s account in Dubai, besides depositing Rs2.5 billion to his wife’s account.
Sheikh Afzal’s son Haris Afzal, a BBA student, also told the court that he was ready to furnish all accounts and properties purchased on his name by his father.
During the course of the proceedings, Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry asked Dr Danishwar Malik, prosecutor general of the NAB, if there was any criminal case against Haris Afzal, son of Sheikh Afzal. Dr Danishwar replied in negative at which the court observed that it was an injustice with the family members.
The court ordered the release of Haris Afzal, however, directed to put his name on the ECL besides surrendering his passport to the NAB. The court directed Haris Afzal to extend his maximum cooperation to the NAB in the investigation process.
The court also allowed protection to Seth Nisar, elder brother of Shiekh Afzal, who wanted to return to Pakistan and pay the money.
His counsel, Advocate Wasim Sajjad, submitted before the court that Seth Nisar, who was abroad, wanted to return to Pakistan and ready to pay the amount being claimed against him.
He further submitted that earlier the court was misguided that Seith Nisar, brother of Sheikh Afzal, Chief Executive Haris Steel Mills, and Sheikh Munir had flown out of the country on October 24 despite being on ECL since 2000.
“His name was removed from the ECL on April 15, 2009 and he had taken Rs400 million as debt from Sheikh Afzal,” Wasim Sajjad added, requesting the court to ensure protection to Seth Nisar.
The court accepted the request and directed Wasim Sajjad to produce Seth Nisar before the court on December 2 and adjourned the hearing.
The court directed the NAB not to harass any family member of Sheikh Afzal, but allowed to take the due action for recovery of the defaulted money. The court also directed the NAB to expedite efforts for extradition of Hamesh Khan, who is an absconder in the case and in the US.
The court praised the role played by officials of FIA, particularly Azam Khan, the FIA DG, and the Foreign Affairs Ministry in the arrest of Sheikh Afzal from Malaysia.
Khawaja Haris, counsel for Bank of Punjab (BoP), and AK Dogar, counsel for Seth Yaqoob, also appeared before the court.