NAB clarifies plea bargain concept

ISLAMABAD: Clarifying an editorial published in The News on September 18 titled “The NAB Method”, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Friday said the contents of editorial pointed towards an unfortunate lack of knowledge about the concept of Plea Bargain (PB) and the legal provisions governing its application.
“The tone and tenor of the editorial leaves much to be desired when measured against the yardstick of responsible journalism and good practices developed in this field by your illustrious newspaper over a period of time seeking to inform and educate general masses,” said the NAB spokesman in a press release. The spokesman said the concept of plea bargain was a norm in the judicial systems of most of civilized democratic nations like the US, the UK, Japan and Canada.
Ostensibly, the editorial has allowed itself to be misled by the word “Bargain”, as it is generally understood in terms of a “discount” or “concession” in a commercial transaction. This un-informed opinion has been carelessly voiced to make the unsuspecting general public believe as if the NAB was letting people go off the hook by charging them a fraction of their looted money.
Nothing can be further from truth. Under the provisions of Section 25 of National Accountability Ordinance (NAO), an accused may apply for plea bargain but he has to offer and pay up the entire amount determined to have been looted plus mark up in three equal installments.
There is no concept of offering or accepting anything less than the full amount. This offer is not without other punishment: The accused becomes disqualified to hold any public office for a period of 10 years, he immediately losses the job or the public office he is holding and is barred from obtaining any loans from banks for a period of 10 years.
The most glaring aspect of lack of knowledge about the plea bargain is that it is not the executive decision of the NAB. Rather, it is the respective accountability courts which on the basis of facts, records and evidence decide to accept or reject plea bargain. The NAB as such is merely a recommending body. The authority lies with the accountability court. It must be added that NAO is the only law which provides for recovery of looted money. Not even a single penny has ever been recovered under any other law dealing with corruption, fraud or loan default cases. The spokesman said NAB had so far recovered more than Rs264 billion which had been returned to the government or to the general public affected by fraud.
NAB has recovered and returned billions of rupees to the victims of Double Shah, modarba scam, housing societies scams and forex companies scams etc. The banking system could have collapsed but for the recoveries made by the NAB. Details are available on the NAB website. This would have been impossible without the special scheme of law that NAO provides. The war on corruption waged by the NAB cannot be won without the help of general public, an informed civil society and a robust and responsible media. Such un-informed opinion would rather serve the interest of those who are on the wrong side of law. The NAB would greatly appreciate your help in this respect.