Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry revealed on Saturday that National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had so far recovered Rs33 billion in the fake accounts case involving former president and PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari.
Taking to Twitter, Fawad said that the case involves as a whole Rs5,000 billion, adding that the recovery of a big amount clearly shows the level of corruption. This also shows how the rulers looted Sindh and Pakistan.
The information minister has been slamming the Sindh government off and on for alleged involvement in the misappropriation of funds.
آصف زرداری کے جعلی اکاؤنٹس کیس میں اب تک نیب 33 ارب روپیہ وصول کر چکی ہے اور یہ تقریباً 200 ملین ڈالر بنتے ہیں اصل مقدمہ 5000 ارب روپے کے لگ بھگ ہے اس وصولی سے آپ اندازہ لگا لیں کے اس ملک میں کرپشن کی کیا سطح رہی ہے اور حکمرانوں نے سندہ اور پاکستان کو کیسے لوٹا ہے
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) July 3, 2021
In his recent visit to Karachi, the information minister lashed out at the provincial government of PPP, saying that looted money was being recovered from Dubai and Europe.
The fake accounts case first came under spotlight in 2015 when the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) received tip-off about suspicious transaction from accounts of different banks including Sindh Bank.
A case was also registered against former Pakistan Stock Exchange chairman Hussain Lawai, who was believed to be a close aide of Asif Zardari, during that same year.
In 2018, the Supreme Court of Pakistan took notice and formed a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to probe the case.
The JIT concluded that 32 fake bank accounts were used by 11 fake entities to launder money received through kickbacks and misappropriation of public funds.
Various bigwigs including Asif Zardari, his sister Faryal Talpur, Lawai and Omni Group’s Anwar Majeed, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah were named as suspect in the probe.
The investigation report further revealed that the Omni Group had immensely benefited from the transactions as it witnessed ‘abnormal’ growth from 2009 onwards.
NAB files another reference against Asif Zardari in fake accounts case
