ISLAMABAD – A former government officer who was detained by the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) Lahore wing with 330 million cash last week was released on the same night, sources confirmed to Daily Pakistan on Sunday.
Khawaja Waseem was an inspector (Grade-16) at the Excise Department some 20 years ago. He was arrested by the anti-corruption watchdog without any arrest warrants and was later released without any legal formalities, sources added.
The amount recovered by the Bureau’s team was “legal as the person in question had declared assets of 800 million in his tax returns.”
After his retirement, “the accused first started working with the Lahore Stock Exchange (LSE) and then started his own business of money exchange behind Faletti’s hotel.”
When NAB officials visited his house, the sources said, they found stacks of money but the accused provided them proof of taxes paid on his money. NAB officials, however, asked Waseem to produce that evidence in the court.
The Bureau carried out a raid at the house of the grade-16 former government official, located in Lahore’s EME society, after receiving a tip-off about him.
NAB refrained from giving away the identity of the officer stating that further details of assets and properties of the said government official were being acquired.
According to the NAB statement, the mammoth amount recovered from the official’s residence includes Rs100m in Pakistani rupees, Rs170m in the form of prize bonds, and nearly Rs35m in the form of 11 foreign currencies.
The bureau said it is also carrying out an inquiry regarding proofs of extensive properties allegedly owned by the suspect.
However, when Daily Pakistan contacted NAB’s spokesperson Zeeshan for comments on this development, he didn’t respond despite repeated attempts.
