£190m settlement case: NAB steps up probe against 22 ex-ministers

ISLAMABAD: In a bid to tighten the noose around the former prime minister Imran Khan’s cabinet, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has accelerated the investigation against 22 former ministers in the £190 million National Crime Agency (NCA) UK settlement case. NAB has sought records of vehicles, properties and bank accounts in the name of 22 former ministers from the excise departments of all the provinces and issued letters to the excise secretaries. The NAB Rawalpindi’s combined investigation team (CIT) probing the £190 million NCA UK settlement case had already recorded statements of the former ministers. The majority of the ex-ministers appeared before the CIT while some submitted their reply through their lawyers when summoned to record their statements. The former ministers whose record has been sought include Ghulam Sarwar Khan, Murad Saeed, Pervez Khattak, Zubaida Jalal, Hammad Azhar, Shafqat Mehmood, Shireen Mazari, Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Ejaz Ahmed Shah, Ali Amin Gandapur, Farogh Naseem, Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar, Asad Umar, Omer Ayub, Fawad Chaudhary, Mehboob Sultan, Faisal Vawda, Ali Zaidi, Azam Swati, Sheikh Rashid, Zaheeruddin Babar Awan and others. NAB has also sought details or copies of certified documents of vehicles purchased or sold by the former ministers during the period from January 2018 to 2023.