NAB Likely to Close Case against Energy Tycoon Iqbal Z. Ahmed  

By: Omed Hajjana

National Accountability Bureau (NAB) is likely to close the case against the leading energy tycoon following directions of the Sindh High Court.

Following directions from the Sindh High Court, Hyderabad, an accountability court in Hyderabad has returned the 2020 reference against leading businessman Iqbal Z. Ahmed and others to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

The high court recently directed the trial court to return the reference to National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

“Result of such order is that currently no reference or case is pending against the petitioners,” the court said, adding that the Special Prosecutor and Investigating Officer of NAB had conceded that a case against Ahmed and others was not tenable.JJVL’s closure becomes a blessing for LPG Importers who pocket billions

The allegation against the accused was that they had shown their income as being more than their actual earnings.

Ahmed was detained in September 2019 and granted bail in March 2020 with the high court noting at the time that the accused were private individuals owning private companies.

Therefore it noted that the misuse of authority was out of the question.”

The court had further observed that the reference had been filed and prima facie nothing to point to any illegal source of earnings has been highlighted to give credence to the allegation.

NAB had failed to prove that the accused “committed any misappropriation, embezzlement, corruption,” the court had observed in 2020.

Ahmed is chairman of Pakistan’s largest gas processing company in the private sector, Jamshoro Joint Venture Limited, and the country’s largest LNG import terminal.

His name and that of the other accused have also been ordered to be removed from the exit control list.