Reference against Kh Asif sent to NAB chief for approval

LAHORE: The National Accountability Bureau, Lahore, has forwarded reference against former defence minister Khawaja Asif to the NAB chairman for approval to be filed in the accountability court.

It has learnt that the NAB has accused Khawaja Asif of accumulating assets beyond means. The reference will be filed in an accountability court after final approval from the NAB chairman.

The details shared by the NAB at the time of arrest of Khawaja Asif stated that investigation against Asif was being conducted under Section 5 of the National Accountability Ordinance 1999 and Section 3 of the Anti-Money Laundering Act 2010.

According to the NAB, Asif had allegedly committed offences of corruption and corrupt practices, as he accumulated assets disproportionate to his known sources of income and laundered such assets by concealing the origin and nature of assets.

The bureau said Khawaja Muhammad Asif claimed to have received Rs130 million approximately as salary from an employment in the UAE with a company named M/S IMECO; however, he failed to provide any documentary evidence for receipt of the said salary which showed that a fake source of income was created by him to justify his alleged ill-gotten assets.