Rs 18 bn Bangladesh branch scam: NBP’s ex-president among seven arrested

KARACHI: Former president NBP Syed Ali Raza and six other officials were arrested by NAB after rejection of their pre-arrest bail by the Sindh High Court in a Rs 18 billion Bangladesh branch scam.

They would now be produced before the accountability court for obtaining their remand. According to the NAB, the NBP Bangladesh branch gave loans valuing $185 million without securing collateral from 2001 to 2013 and, in certain cases, the branch released securities without even recovering the loans.

The NAB also authorised investigations into the conduct of   NBP  former president Syed Ali Raza  accused of abusing his powers in the processing and sanctioning of the credit limits, willfully avoiding proper valuation of securities offered by borrowers and causing losses of US$185 million to the national exchequer.

The NAB prosecutor argued in the court that the 2009 audit report of the National Bank had exposed irregularities and the State Bank of Pakistan had also expressed reservations on the financial affairs of the bank. He informed the court that, along with Raza, NBP officials, including Zubair Ahmed, Tahir Yaqoob, Imran Butt, Ibrar Beg, Imran Ghani and some Bangladeshi citizens were also involved in the scam.

Petitioners counsel submitted that their clients were falsely implicated in the case and requested the court to confirm the pre-arrest bail as the case requires further investigation. The SHC’s division bench, headed by Chief Justice Ahmed Ali M Sheikh, after hearing the arguments of the counsel dismissed, the pre-arrest bail petition of the former NBP president and six other officials and recalled the protective bail order.