NAB wasted 4.6 billion rupees of taxpayer money on frivolous UK investigation

LONDON/ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau has had to pay a whopping 4.6 billion PKR to Broadsheet LLC, an assets recovery firm after the London High Court ruled in the latter’s favour.

In 2003, Pakistan’s military dictator Gen Pervaiz Musharraf had hired Broadsheet LLC to investigate, track and trace the overseas assets of over 200 Pakistanis, most of whom included Musharraf’s political rivals including Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, Nawaz Sharif and some of their associates.

Broadsheet LLC did not recover a single asset worth a single rupee during the course of the investigation but instead of paying its dues, NAB embarked on a lengthy and costly legal conflict which ultimately resulted in 4.6 billion rupees loss to the national exchequer.

The News International reported that a source within the Pakistan High Commission in London confirmed that they had received the court order and had no choice but to comply with the London High Court’s decision.

NAB officials declined to comment to The News International’s reporters saying that they cannot comment as “the office is closed” and that “the official record related to the case is in office as the case is very old from 2003 and the decision of the case was announced in 2016 before the present management of NAB”.