NAB’s mathematics about huge recoveries rely on ‘indirect recoveries’

ISLAMABAD: If one trusts the mathematics of NAB, the Bureau claims to have made total recoveries of Rs 323 billion in the year 2020 alone.

Recently, no less a person than the Finance Ministry raised serious questions over NAB’s assertion about its recoveries by revealing that since 2006 merely Rs 6.5 billion have been deposited by the Bureau in the national exchequer. NAB’s 2020 annual report, however, shows it has been making tall claims. However, the huge figures it gives about recoveries fall in the category of ‘indirect recoveries.’

The report only talks about the performance, including recoveries of the Bureau for the year 2020. Total recoveries in the year 2020 are stated to be Rs 323 billion, which include Rs 313 billion ‘indirect recoveries’ and Rs 8.2 billion recovered through plea bargains. During the year, the voluntary return has been a mere Rs 18 million.

Out of the Rs 8.2 billion recovered through plea bargains, the share of Rawalpindi NAB was Rs 3.1 billion followed by NAB Karachi which recovered Rs 1.9 billion, NAB Sukkur Rs 1 billion, NAB Multan Rs 17 million, NAB KP one million whereas NAB Balochistan had no contribution at all.

There is an explanation offered about the indirect recoveries, but the figure mentioned is huge i.e. Rs 313 billion. The report shows the Rawalpindi NAB to have done indirect recoveries of Rs 205.8 billion only during the year 2020. It is followed by Karachi NAB with Rs 74.9 billion, Lahore NAB with Rs 23 billion, Sukkur NAB with Rs 8.4 billion whereas the contribution of NAB Multan, NAB KP and NAB Balochistan has been Rs 438m, Rs 42m and Rs 10m respectively.

The report, which was presented to President Dr Arif Alvi early this year, shows NAB having boasted, “In year 2020, NAB recovered Rs 323.29 billion from the accused, in comparison with Rs 141.54 billion and Rs 28.88 billion recovered during the year 2019 and 2018, by beating our own performance record.”

The report added, “From January-December 2020, NAB received 24,706 complaints and finalized 30,405; processed 1,681 complaints verification and finalized 878. During the same period, 1,326 inquiries were processed and 369 finalized, 496 investigations were processed and 175 finalized and 136 references were processed and finalized at NAB. Total recovery of NAB since its inception year 1999, remained at Rs 789.368 billion.”

In his message, the incumbent Chairman NAB Justice Javed Iqbal remarked about NAB in the report in this fashion, “Benchmarking with developed nation’s standards of living, governance, economy, technology and investigation process, warrants continuous efforts and road map to achieve the milestones of transparency, merit, and public trust. In this wake, we at NAB are committed with the public to develop Pakistan into a meritocratic state. Therefore, I call on and wish all stakeholders to join hands with us in (the) struggle to transform Pakistan into (a) corruption free country.”

Now, in view of what the Finance Ministry recently disclosed before a Senate Committee, the NAB auditors have the challenge of proving their claims about recoveries because as against the latest claim of having recovered over Rs 800 billion, merely Rs 6.5 billion have been deposited in the national exchequer. NAB has been given notice by the parliamentary committee to tell the lawmakers where the rest of the money went.