SHC grants protective bail to bank, petroleum company’s officials

The Sindh High Court on Monday granted protective bail to 14 officials of the National Bank of Pakistan and a private petroleum company in a bank loan fraud case.

NBP and Hascol officials were booked by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on charges of fraud, criminal breach of trust and money laundering. The FIA alleged that NBP and private petroleum company officials had committed financial fraud in the shape of bank loans, and funded and non-funded financial facilities in violation of the banking laws, thereby causing wrongful losses to the national exchequer and gain to the petroleum company.

Applicants Reema Athar, Saleem Butt, Wajahat Ahmed Baqai, Syed Jamal Baqae, Asadullah Saleem, Syed Mohammad Shahmim, Mohammad Asmar Ateeq, Syed Zafar Ali Shah, Osama Ghazi, Syed Akbar Zaidi, Mohammad Saleem Saleemi, Khurrum Shahzad, Mohammad Ali and Nabeel Zahoor had moved the court for obtaining protective bail.

The applicants’ counsel, Arshad Tayabaly, submitted that the applicants were posted in different position in the NBP and private petroleum company against which an inquiry was initiated by the FIA under fraud, corruption and money laundering charges, nominating them as accused.

He submitted that the applicants wanted to surrender before the trial court for taking relief but were apprehensive of their arrests. A division bench, headed by Justice Mohammad Iqbal Kalhoro granted protective bail to the applicants with a surety of Rs100,000 each to enable them to surrender before the trial court.