NAB aims at bringing corrupt elements to justice: Chairman

NAB was geared up to bring the corrupt elements to justice to eradicate corruption from the country by vigorously pursuing Accountability for All" policy as corruption was the mother of all evils which is a major hurdle in the development and prosperity of the country, said National Accountability Bureau (NAB chairman Justice (Retd) Javed Iqbal.

In a statement, he said that NAB had no affiliation with any political party, group and individual. NAB officials have been directed to perform their duties in accordance with law with the realization that eradication of corruption is their national duty. NAB was Chairman of SAARC Anti Corruption Forum. Pakistan and China have inked Memorandum of understanding MoU for eradication of corruption. Pakistan and China were jointly working for ensuring transparency in China Pakistan economic coordination in CPEC project.

NAB was the focal department under the United Nations Convention against Corruption which is pride for Pakistan. NAB has established a state of the art Pakistan Anti Corruption Training Academy on modern lines to train its investigation officers and Prosecutors in order to inquire/investigate white collar cases more professionally and to plead them very vigorously in the respected Courts on the basis of solid evidence as per law.

He said that NAB's proactive AntiCorruption Strategy has started yielding positive dividends. Due to its effective anti corruption strategy, NAB has not only recovered Rs 714b looted money from corrupt directly and indirectly since its inception and deposited it in the national exchequer which was a record achievement of any Anti Corruption Organization working in Pakistan. NAB's conviction ratio is about 68.6pc.

NAB was utilizing all its resources to apprehend Proclaimed Offenders and Absconders to bring them to justice as per law. The Chairman NAB said that there were about 1130 references under trial in respective Accountability Courts and their approximately worth is Rs 943 billion. NAB has conducted probes in 56 public limited companies, probes in offshore companies, Fake Accounts, money laundering and misuse of authority, assets beyond known sources of income and cheating the public at large in illegal Housing/Cooperative Societies and Modaraba scams etc.

He said that plea bargains are deemed conviction which is approved by respected Accountability Courts. After a plea bargain, the accused not only accepts his/her guilt in writing before the Court but also returns to its looted money in the national exchequer. He said that NAB has great regard for the business community as they are the backbone of the development of any country.