KARACHl: The National Accountability Bureau on Tuesday booked eight officials of the state-owned Pakistan State Oil (PSO), including a former managing director, and a private petroleum firm in a Rs23 billion corruption case.

The suspects belonging to PSO and Byco Petroleum Pakistan Limited were booked in a reference pertaining to alleged corruption in the sale and purchase of petroleum products.

The anti-graft watchdog nominated former PSO chief Naeem Yahya Mir, former general manager (supply) Akhtar Zameer, former GM (retail and consumer business) Syed Zulfiqar Ali Jaffri, director general (oils) Sabir Hussain, a former director of the ministry of petroleum and natural resources and others in the reference, which was filed before the administrative judge of the accountability courts in Karachi.

The administrative judge while issuing the warrants for the arrest of suspects Mir, Hussain and the chief executive officer of the private firm sent the case to Accountability Court-IV for trial.

According to the prosecution, the former PSO officers and the former director of the ministry of petroleum and natural resources had misused their official authority while serving on their official posts and got involved in corruption and corrupt practices in connivance with the officers of Byco.

It alleged that the suspects had caused losses worth Rs23bn to the national exchequer.