The prime suspect in the Rs40 billion Kohistan mega corruption scandal has once again submitted to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) a plea bargain application for Rs3.45 billion, media reports said Friday.
Reports quoted NAB sources as saying that the main suspect, namely Ayub, had also earlier submitted a plea bargain request but it was declined for being too low.
This application, they said, comes after a transaction of Rs3.45 billion was made from the suspect’s account at the National Bank’s Dasu branch. Earlier, an accountability court in Peshawar also directed NAB to move forward with the plea bargain process as the accused agreed to pay the amount in three instalments.
With the payment plan reportedly accepted by NAB, it is expected that the anti-graft watchdog would soon approve the new plea bargain application.
Meanwhile, a special accountability court in Peshawar has handed over Ayub to NAB on a seven-day physical remand. The suspect was presented before the court on Thursday.
During the hearing, the prosecutor told the court that NAB was probing the Kohistan mega-corruption case, and Ayub, a key suspect, had been held as part of the investigation. The prosecutor said that the court had already dismissed the suspect’s bail application, adding that further investigation of the suspect was necessary.
Upon NAB’s request, the court granted a seven-day physical remand of the prime suspect.
The developments come two days after photos and videos of luxury vehicles and properties emerged in the multi-billion-rupee scandal. According to reports, NAB escalated the case by turning the inquiry into a formal investigation, signaling major crackdown on corruption.
Reports quoted NAB as saying that it had also recovered and frozen assets worth whopping Rs25 billion in said case. Interestingly, the assets included a luxury bungalow featured in the popular drama serial Parizaad.
Among the seized assets were also 77 high-end vehicles, including Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Porsche Taycan, Toyota Land Cruiser, Fortuner and Hilux Revo, worth Rs940 million.
Over Rs1 billion in cash, foreign currency and more than three kilogrammes of gold were also taken into custody by NAB.
While a total of Rs5 billion across 73 bank accounts had been frozen, the anti-graft watchdog had also confiscated 109 properties across Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Abbottabad and Mansehra. These included four farmhouses, 12 commercial plazas, two commercial plots, 30 houses, 12 shops and food courts, 25 flats and penthouses, and 175 kanals of agricultural land. The estimated value of these properties was around Rs17 billion.
