SC rejects bail plea of cryptocurrency fraud accused

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a bail petition of a man allegedly involved in a Rs1.70 billion cryptocurrency scam.

An apex court bench, headed by Justice Umar Ata Bandial, reprimanded the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) over an inordinate delay in filing of a reference against the accused.

Justice Qazi Ameen, a member of the bench, termed the anti-graft buster’s inability to file a reference even after the passage of two years “criminal negligence”.

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“NAB doesn’t file the reference and the finger of blame is pointed at courts,” he observed.

A NAB prosecutor informed the judges that accused Waseem Zaib received a whopping Rs1.70 billion from citizens and transferred the money into cryptocurrency accounts.

“Why didn’t the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) trace the accused’s assets?” the SC asked the prosecutor.

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Justice Qazi Ameen expressed displeasure at the bureau saying, “This is the state of the investigation in a mega scandal. There is no basic information.”

The Supreme Court (SC) directed the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to file the reference against the accused as soon as possible.