The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Wednesday moved the supplementary reference against former prime minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf in the accountability court for his involvement in multi-billion scam of Rental Power Projects (RPPs).
NAB Rawalpindi had sent a supplementary reference to the NAB headquarters Islamabad that was lying with the legal branch of the bureau and after giving final touches to supplementary reference it finnaly filed in the accountability court on Wednesday against former prime minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf.
The decision of filing the reference against former prime minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf was taken last week in a first meeting of the NAB Executive Board. The meeting was chaired by newly appointed NAB Chairman Qamar Zaman Chaudhry.
After Wednesday development, total numbers of accused in scam reached to 10 whom supplementary references have been filed in the accountability court.
The accountability court would hear the case Nov. 19.
Preliminary reference was already filed against nine other accused for alleged misuse of authority in violation of rules while awarding unsolicited RPP at Naudero-II and shifting of equipment from one project to another thus causing huge loss to national exchequer.
In Naudero-II RPPs case, nine accused persons against whom preliminary reference was filed in Accountability Court include former secretary Ministry Water and Power (MoWP) and ex-chairman Pepco Shahid Rafi, ex-additional secretary MoWP Sheikh Zarrar Aslam, ex-MD/CEO Pepco Engineer Tahir Basharat Cheema, ex-directors Pepco Board of Directors (BoD) Malik Muhammad Razi Abbas and Wazir Ali Bhayo, ex-GM Wapda Power Privatisation Organization (WPPO), CEO Central Power Generation Company Ltd (CPGCL), Tariq Nazir, ex-CEO CPGCL Abdul Malik Memon and ex-MD Pepco Rasool Khan Mahsud. The decision of filing the supplementary reference against former prime minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf was taken after he failed to satisfy the investigation team of NAB in his three appearances.
The issue was referred to former chairman NAB Admiral (R) Fasih Bokhari who kept the issue in the cupboard and was pending since then.According to sources, the NAB investigation team that probed the multi-billion scam has found the involvement of former prime minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf in all the 12 references that was being framed in multi-billion RPPs scam and a supplementary reference would be filed against him.