Probing Alliance Sugar Mills Ltd: Inquiry team reprimanded, head suspended on showing negligence

ISLAMABAD: Head of the Inquiry Commission on Sugar (ICOS) has reprimanded the inquiry team conducting forensic audit of Alliance Sugar Mills Ltd. for showing lethargic work, appointing a new head of probe team who would come up with the final report by April 25.

Deputy Director Anti-Corruption Circle FIA, Shahid Hassan, would now lead the inquiry team which has already unearthed irregularities worth Rs4.5 billion in business dealings of the Alliance Sugar Mills Ltd. The unit sold sugar worth Rs21 billion to around 1,100 unregistered buyers in past four years, revealed a member of probe team seeking anonymity.

Inquiry team briefed Director General FIA Wajid Zia also head of ICOS, Wednesday, on stumbling blocks they faced with while retrieving the important data from the said sugar unit in past six weeks from Ghotki, Sindh.

“I’m not happy at all with this team’s performance. They showed lethargic attitude while probing Alliance Sugar Mills Ltd. It is a serious investigation and I’d act against those showing negligence,” head of the commission was quoted as saying by a member of the team. “That is why we decide to suspend head of this inquiry team (Sajjad Mustafa Bajwa) -he showed non-professional attitude,” Wajid Zia told the inquiry team, added the member who spoke to this correspondent on condition of anonymity.

The previous inquiry team visited Alliance Sugar Mills Ltd. on 20th March where investigators spent five days to retrieve the data which according to a team member was replaced with new computers and data. Investigation team wanted record pertaining to mills’ sugar stock, production, sale, business dealings, buyers, loans, bank transactions, internal audit report, etc. but the team found the staff non-cooperative, added the member.

The probing team consists of Deputy Director FIA (Cyber Crime) Abdul Ghaffar, Rana Shahzad (Forensic Expert), Nauman (Assistant Joint Director), Assistant Director Intelligence Bureau Jamil Sommro, Assistant Director FBR Rizwan, Zeeshsn (FBR special audit) and Waseem (Inspector IB) would most likely revisit the said unit this week.

The inquiry team also informed Wajid Zia that the members of forensic team of FIA has also evaluated data retrieved from I-Cloud accounts of Alliance Sugar Mills Ltd. which revealed that the unit sold sugar worth Rs3 billion of total Rs5 billion out of the book in past four years. The team, which was not supported by its previous head Sajjad Mustaf Bajwa, was facing multiple hurdles to retrieve more data from the system of said unit after staffers, according to team member, replaced the whole system. The commission would most likely to take one more week to complete its report which would be submitted before Premier Khan by end of this month, a member of the commission told this correspondent.

Mr Bajwa, who earned wrath of Wajid Zia during the meeting, would now face the inquiry to be conducted under supervision of sitting Add DG FIA. The inquiry team came back from Ghotki on March 25th in bad taste, a member told this correspondent.

Most of the members were in strong belief that previous head of team Mr Bajwa sharing the information with the other party and this was the reason our investigation fractured in unit case, added the member who is familiar with the latest development.

Shahid Mehmood, General Manager of Alliance Sugar Mills Ltd. according to member of the inquiry team, removed some key computers carrying details of buyers, brokers and middle men who were purchasing sugar of this said sugar unit.

Wajid Zia was also briefed on the latest development into forensic analysis of three sugar mills owned by PTI leader Jahangir Khan Tareen. The inquiry team headed by Khalid Anis told the inquiry commission that the first draft of forensic report of these units to be submitted before the commission tomorrow.

Sources closed to family of Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar who owns the Alliance Sugar Mills Ltd. said, “Mills’ administration completely cooperated with the inquiry team. They handed over the record the inquiry team asked for. In fact, it was Mr Bajwa who misbehaved mills’ administration and staff and threw their mobiles, etc while inquiry team was collecting the data.”