FIA raids OGRA office to confiscate OMCs record
Aftab Ahmed
Islamabad: The Federal Investigation Agency—FIA—has confiscated records at OGRA about the countrywide oil crisis this June. The FIA team also remained at the headquarter of the Authority till late at night. So that they can get the relevant record of OMCs.
The Agency recorded those OMCs mainly responsible for hoarding and dumping POL products during the crisis.
The federal Cabinet decided in its meeting on July 28 to constitute an inquiry commission. The commission will ascertain the causes of the POL crisis in June and onward until the federal government restored the POL prices at March 2020 level.
The commission, headed by Federal Investigation Agency Director General Abu Bakar Khuda Baksh, would suggest action against those involved in the scam. Other members of the commission would be from the Intelligence Bureau, Inter-Services Intelligence, State Bank of Pakistan, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority, Competition Commission of Pakistan, Hydrocarbon Development Institute of Pakistan, and Federal Board of Revenue.
An official at OGRA on the condition of anonymity told Newztodays.com that the FIA team’s main focus was to find the culprits. They (FIA) believe that OMCs were involved in massive hoarding. Moreover, the retail outlets of OMCs were also involved.
The (FIA) officials wanted to unearth this organized crime for POL hoarding. The crisis leads to long queues in northern parts of the country, he added.
The FIA team already confiscated records at Directorate General (Oil), Petroleum Division, Ministry of Energy. They also questioned the officials dealing with oil. Particularly of those, who issued a letter and working in the Directorate preempting increase in petrol prices correspondent.
In an earlier inquiry committee, one of the OMCs threatened to leave the country by winding its business up. If such tactics of registering FIRs against CEOs of the OMCs continue, they will quit the business. The FIA also summoned CEOs of the OMCs to appear in its Karachi office.
It is pertinent to mention that OGRA has fined some OMCs for allegedly involved in hoarding and shortage of products at their outlets.
