Corruption cost PSM billions

ISLAMABAD Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in its report submitted before Supreme Court on Wednesday said that embezzlement, bribe, corruption, discrepancies, commissions and back room deals had cost Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) billions of rupees. It happened under the head of former PSM Chairman Moin Aftab Sheikh and his accomplices from May 26, 2008 to August 19, 2009, the report said.
Dr Azam, FIA Legal Director, submitted the four-page investigative report before the SC, which said Moin Aftab and his near and dear ones might have made embezzlement of billions of rupees.
A three-member bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry heard a suo moto notice case of Rs 22 billion loss and corruption in PSM.
They imported raw material from abroad and took commission in it causing billions of rupees loss to the organisation, the report said.
The FIA Legal Director informed the court that the agency launched investigation into alleged corruption and discrepancies in PSM with the cooperation of a three-member team of FIA Sindh zone.
The team had seized some of the PSM record and it might question some senior officials of the mills, he added.
However, Advocate Mujeeb Pirzada, counsel for PSM, informed the court that details would be presented before the court in the next hearing.
He said that another accused in the fraud Riaz Lal Ji had left the country and now his daughter was running his company.
Some 300 companies were awarded contracts during last two years, he said adding that majority of the contracts were being awarded to Al Abbas Group.
One of the companies, Alghazi Traders Ltd was getting contracts since years. The company is said to be the ownership of the sitting President Asif Ali Zardari, the court was informed.
Salman Butt, counsel for Sheikh Moin, argued before the court that contracts had been fixed for five years so we could not fix the price for time being.
He said the former PSM Chairman did not award contracts to four companies namely Al-Abbas Steel Pvt Ltd, Abbas Engineering Ltd, Abbas Steel Ltd and Abbas Steel Group for getting 50 thousand tons steel at lowest prices. He insisted that his client was not involved in the scam.
Former PSM Chairman, Moin Aftab Sheikh, during his tenure in collaboration with Rasool Bux Pholpoto, Managing Director, Sameen Asghar, the then Director Commercial, and others in order to provide wrongful gain to M/S Abbas Steel Group, Karachi, manipulated the supply of premium grade billets at extremely reduced price, while other genuine consumers were ignored, the report said.
However, the apex court expressed dissatisfaction over PSM report, which said former chairman made embezzlement of Rs 22.143 billion.
The Chief Justice directed the FIA to arrest the accused to save the public property and adjourned hearing of the case by two-weak time.
According to the report, it was revealed during investigation that the persons in collaboration with each other caused Rs 3.69 billion loss to the government exchequer for wrongful personal gains.
Moin also deliberately and willfully imported coal from Australia at exorbitant price against prevailing low prices in market and paid highly exorbitant freight of charges for personal gains and caused loss to Pakistan steel, it added.
The FIA report further said that Captain Rashid Abro caused a loss to the tune of Rs 5.39 billion to the national exchequer.