The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) earlier today arrested two bank officers of the privately owned NIB Bank, who in connivance with accused former Secretary Workers Welfare Board (WWB) Tariq Awan, were allegedly involved in corrupt practices in procurement of equipment for the WWB project causing huge losses to the national exchequer.
Rizwan Ali Branch Manager and Abid Mahmood Abbassi Operation Manager of NIB Bank Shoba Chowk Branch, Peshawar will be produced before the Accountability Court Peshawar to obtain their physical remand, said a spokesman for NAB.
The accused with connivance of accused Tariq Awan Secretary WWB, Abdul Waheed Qureshi Project Officer WWB and other accused persons was allegedly involved in commission of the offense of corrupt practices in procurement of equipment and caused huge loss to national exchequer worth billions of rupees.
Accused Rizwan Ali Branch Manager NIB Bank in connivance with Tariq Awan Secretary WWB and other accused persons, opened illegal account in NIB Bank, with the titled of ‘Secretary Labour’.
No approval of Secretary Labour was obtained for this account. The account was used for deposit of cheques of huge sum issued in the name of Secretary Labour by WWB and then transferred in the account of Secretary WWB for making payments of illegal contracts.
The then Secretary Labour was kept totally ignorant from this account. A very big sum of more than Rs. 2.29 Billion was credited and then withdrawn by accused persons from this account illegally.
Furthermore, he is also involved in opening of fraudulent account of accused Firms M/S Ashraf Enterprises.
Accused Abid Mahmood Abbassi remained Operation Manager NIB Bank Shoba Chowk Branch Peshawar. He in capacity of Manager Operation illegally deposited cheques issued in the name of Secretary Labour in the account of accused Tariq Awan. The said official cheques were properly crossed and could not be deposited in the said account.
Furthermore accused Abid Abbassi is also involved in fake Call Back Confirmation (CBC) from the signatories of the account of Secretary WWB from which huge amounts were withdrawn through alleged fake signatures of Director Finance WWB and embezzled.
It is pertinent to be mentioned that Tariq Awan Secretary WWB and many of the accused persons involved in the scam had already been arrested by NAB (KPK).
