NAB establishes anti-money laundering cell: chairman

ISLAMABAD: National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Chairman Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal on Sunday said an anti-money laundering cell has been set up at the NAB headquarters, adding that liaison, implementation, monitoring, and analysis with the National Financial Action Task Force Secretariat and relevant stakeholders are the main responsibilities of this cell.

“The NAB has not only adopted ‘Accountability for All’ policy but also 1,405 accused persons were convicted by the Accountability Courts during 2017-2021,” he said in a statement.

The chairman said the operational and prosecution divisions of NAB are providing necessary input and legal assistance to all regional bureaus for conducting complaints, inquiries and investigation in accordance with the law, and follow-up of the cases in the Accountability Courts, High Courts and Supreme Court of Pakistan. He said the NAB is using all its resources to bring to a logical conclusion the mega corruption cases, including money laundering, misuse of power, disproportionate assets, public funds embezzlement, fake and illegal housing societies and Mudaraba scams. He said the NAB’s 1,237 cases of corruption worth Rs1,335 billion are under trial in various courts, adding that out of those cases, 66 have been brought to their logical conclusion, while 93 cases are under trial in the relevant courts.

The chairman said the NAB is the UN’s focal body under the UNCAC, which is committed to eradicating the scourge of corruption in order to make Pakistan a corruption-free state, following the policy of ‘Accountability for All’. He said the NAB has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with China to oversee the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects being completed in Pakistan. “The performance of NAB is regularly monitored, especially through the computer-based monitoring and evaluation system, while the NAB chairman’s inspection and monitoring team physically evaluates the performance,” he said.

Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal said the NAB has set up the Pakistan Training and Research Academy, which focuses on providing modern and up-to-date training to the investigation officers in money laundering and white collar crime cases. He said the NAB has introduced a Combine Investigation Team (CIT) system in order to benefit from the experience and collective wisdom of senior supervisory officers and to improve inquiries and investigations on the basis of solid evidence and documentary evidence.

He said the NAB has also set up witness handling cells in all regional bureaus, adding that the NAB is pursuing its cases in the courts on the basis of solid documentary evidence. He said the NAB has set up a state-of-the-art forensic science laboratory with digital forensics, questionnaires and fingerprint analysis facilities.

The chairman said the NAB has devised a quantified grading system to improve its performance and in the context of enforcement strategy, while the NAB has set a time limit of 10 months to complete the investigation, inquiry and investigation of complaints. “Transparency International Pakistan, World Economic Forum, Global Peace Canada, PILDAT and Mashal Pakistan have also appreciated the NAB’s efforts, whereas as per Gilani & Gallup survey, 59 percent people have expressed confidence in the bureau,” he said.