NAB approved 440 corruption references in a year: chairman

F.P. Report

ISLAMABAD: Chairman National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal, said on Sunday that the NAB approved 440 corruption references in a year.

As many as 503 suspects were arrested in different cases, said Iqbal in a statement. The recovery of Rs 297 billion by the accountability watchdog is a big recovery, he added.

He said the NAB received 44,315 complaints in a year. After going through all the complaints, the institution began probe on 1703 cases.

Mr. Iqbal said 877 inquiries were held during last 12 months, while Rs 2600 million were recovered in 227 different investigations.

He stated that investigations into misappropriation in funds, plundering national wealth, misuse of authority and mega corruption cases were the top priorities.

Chairman NAB on several occasions reiterated that the bureau was working on ‘zero tolerance’ policy against corruption.

In one such statement three weeks ago, Mr Javed Iqbal directed DG NAB to expedite the progress of investigation of the important graft cases.

Responding to the critics, he said the Bureau will respond to every criticism being done against it, through its performance.

“Mega corruption cases will be taken to their logical end, as there is zero tolerance policy against this menace,” he vowed.

Chairman NAB Justice (rtd) Javed Iqbal on Friday (December 21), had said, a comprehensive policy has been devised to make Pakistan, a corruption free state.