SHC grants bail to JJVL’s chief, five others in graft case

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) has granted bail to the chief of the Jamshoro Joint Venture Limited (JJVL) and five co-accused in corruption and money laundering charges.

Iqbal Z Ahmed, Fasihuddin Ahmed, Raziuddin Ahmed, Asim Iftikhar, Qazi Humayon Fareed and Salamat Ali were arrested by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB)in a case pertaining to corruption and money laundering worth Rs28 billion in the sale of Lub Gas and NGL supplied by the Sui Southern Gas Company.

A high court division bench, comprising Justice Mohammad Karim Khan Agha and Justice Khadim Hussain Tunio, heard the bail applications of the applicants.

After hearing the arguments of the applicants’ counsel and the special prosecutor of NAB, the court, for reason to be recorded later on, granted bail to the accused in the NAB reference (01/2020), subject to furnishing a surety of Rs1 million each. The court directed the jail authorities to release the accused if they were not arrested in any other case.

The applicants’ counsel said in arguments that baseless allegations have been levelled against their clients, while their clients are responsible for a private company; hence, NAB’s jurisdiction does not apply to them. However, the counsel said, their clients are ready not only to face the investigation but also to provide every possible cooperation. Therefore, a request was made to the high court for the approval of the bail pleas.

NAB had filed the reference against the accused in 2020, alleging that JJVL had shown an income of Rs72 billion from 2011 to 2019, aiming to incorporate black money into the JJVL’s corporate bank account. According to NAB, JJVL’s sole business relies on supplying LPG and LNG, provided to them by the SSGC. Contrary to SSGC documents, the gas utility provided LPG worth Rs22.8 billion to JJVL, whereas JJVL claimed to have earned Rs43 billion from the mentioned gas, which is 200 percent more than the actual sales amount.

NAB further stated in its reference that JJVL had submitted details to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) about its sales tax collected from its sales, claiming its revenue to be Rs25 billion. In addition to this, it provided 350,000 metric tonnes of LPG out of more than 600,000 metric tonnes were provided to its five companies, valued at approximately Rs21.79 billion.