Corruption in RekoDiq project: Reference filed against 26 officials of Balochistan govt

ISLAMABAD: The NAB Balochistan, with the approval of its chairman, has filed a reference against 26 officials of Balochistan government in the Reko Diq project for causing a loss of billions of rupees to the national exchequer. 

The reference was filed in accountability court, Quetta, after 30 years of hard work and evidence collection by teams led by DG NAB Operation and DG NAB Balochistan.

The accused have been involved in abuse of authority and violation of rules and inflicting billions of rupees losses to the national exchequer for personal interests. The reference has been filed after scrutiny of 30 years and on the basis of solid evidence.

The accountability court has issued notices to the accused persons as per law. Chagai Hills Exploration Joint Venture agreement was signed in 1993 between the Balochistan Development Authority and Australian company Broken Hill Proprietary. The BDA gave illegal benefits to the Australian company. Mining rules were illegally amended to strengthen the terms of agreement.

Balochistan Mining Concession Rules were illegally amended to strengthen the terms of this agreement, which was against national interest, by repeatedly entering into illegal sub-agreements and introducing a new company called Tethyan Copper Company (TCC). Serious irregularities were committed by officials of the revenue department in the allotment of land and other matters.

The accused confessed taking financial benefits. The records and statements of witnesses had revealed that the TCC operatives were found to be involved in bribing government employees and illegally gaining benefits.

Due to these corrupt elements, the Reko Diq project, which was supposed to earn billions of rupees for the province, could not yield desired financial results. During the investigation spanning years, various government departments were scrutinised. Overseas suspects were repeatedly summoned for questioning.

The accused abroad were summoned several times to record their statements. The NAB team led by DG NAB Operation, DG NAB, Balochistan, has resolved the most ticklish and huge corruption white collar crimes and filed reference against 26 officials of the Balochistan government.