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Cash stash found

2016-05-22
QUETTA: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) seized Rs5.7 million, including some foreign currency notes, from a bakery here on Saturday in connection with the Mushtaq Raisani corruption case.

NAB officials said that during interrogation, suspects arrested in the corruption case involving the now suspended provincial finance secretary disclosed that they had hidden embezzled money and documents in a bakery in the Satellite Town area.

A bureau team raided the bakery and found Rs5.7m in cash including some foreign currency notes, gold and property documents there.

`A facilitator arrested in the case informed the investigation team about the looted money and gold hidden in the bakery,` a spokesman for NAB`s Balochistan branch said.

The bureau has already seized Rs650m from the official residence of former finance secretary Mushtaq Raisani and arrested him two weeks ago after collecting evidence of his involvement in embezzlement of last year`s local bodies funds.

An accountability court extended Raisani`s remand in NAB custody for another 14 days on Friday. Three other suspects arrested in the case include Executive Engineer Tariq Ali of Communications and Works Department in Kalat, a leading contractor, Faisal Majee d Shah, and his brother Asad Majeed Shah, who is accused of playing the role of a facilitator in the scam.

The three suspects would be produced in the accountability court to seek extension in their remand.

`The four suspects have divulged vital information about the embezzled funds of local bodies which is helping in investigation,` sources told Dawn.

They said that some officials would be summoned by NAB soon for questioning about loot and plunder of public funds.

NAB has issued three summons to Mir Khalid Langov, former adviser to the chief minister on finance, asking him to appear before bureau officials for investigation into the corruption case.

But Khalid Langov, who resigned from his office after the arrest of Mushtaq Raisani, has failed to appear before the bureau so far and obtained interim protective bail from the Islamabad High Court. However, he had said that he would appear before NAB authorities soon.

Sources said that NAB teams had raided many places in different areas of the province to arrest the alleged mastermind of the scam, Saleem Shah, who held dual charge of administrator of Khaligabad and Mach municipal committees. `We are after him and will succeed in arresting him soon,` NAB sources said.