NAB gives clean chit to Ahad Cheema in assets beyond means case

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Monday cleared Advisor to Prime Minister on Establishment Ahad Cheema in a case pertaining to assets beyond his known sources of income, Geo News reported.

The anti-graft watchdog submitted a report in an accountability court in Lahore, stating that no evidence of misconduct by Cheema was found during the investigation into the assets beyond means case and the assets held by the former bureaucrat corresponded with his income.

It may be noted that NAB itself had accused Cheema of holding property worth billions of rupees in the name of his family members.

Today, in its report submitted on a petition seeking acquittal in the case, the Bureau stated that benamidars of Cheema had built properties from their personal income and those assets cannot be linked to him.

The NAB has said that the bank accounts of his relatives are not benami accounts of Ahad Cheema. It added that, according to the re-investigation, the total income of Cheema is Rs213 million and expenses are Rs131 million.

The anti-corruption watchdog also stated that in the re-investigation Cheema shared with the NAB his income and profit details which showed that his assets were as per his income. It also stated that it had verified the record submitted by the former civil servant which proved to be correct.

The bureau has now requested the court to give a verdict on Cheema’s acquittal plea based on the law.

NAB had arrested Cheema on February 21, 2018, to investigate assets beyond means of reference and other cases against him. He was released on bail by the Lahore High Court in April 2022.

Earlier this month, Cheema, along with former prime minister Shehbaz Sharif and 10 others, was acquitted in the Ashiana-i-Iqbal Housing Scheme reference by a Lahore accountability court.