NAB unearths unaccounted transactions to Ex-PM Abbasi's account
- By Zulqarnain Haider -
- Sep 03, 2020
ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has filed a supplementary reference against former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi in the LNG scam, making startling revelations about transfer of funds to his account from a UAE-based firm.
According to the reference, the PML-N leader had been receiving funds from Trinity Company located in the UAE, said to be working with an India-based firm, Siddhart Private Limited.
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A sum of $538,895 was transferred to Ex-PM Abbasi’s account in three installments from a Dubai bank, the reference revealed, adding that the UAE government provided the national graft buster with evidence in this regard as the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) also confirmed these transactions.
However, NAB added, the former prime minister, when confronted, was unable to give a satisfactory explanation as to these transactions. It disclosed that more than Rs637 million funds were transferred to the accounts of Abbasi and his son Abdullah.
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Former prime minister Abbasi, Miftah Ismail, ex-PSO MD Imranul Haq and others are facing charges of corruption over awarding a LNG import contract allegedly at exorbitant rates in 2015, which caused a big loss to the national exchequer.
NAB sources said that Abbasi, in 2013, had awarded a LNG import and distribution contract to the Elengy Terminal in violation of the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) rules and relevant laws.