SHC reserves judgement against Ali Jehangir Siddiqui on NAB probe

KARACHI: A bench of Sindh High Court (SHC) Saturday reserved its decision on a petition regarding NAB inquiry against former Pakistani Ambassador in United States Ali Jehangir Siddiqui.

Siddiqui’s counsel Khalid Javed Khan in his arguments before the court said that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) have no jurisdiction to investigate any issue related to stocks.

The NAB counsel contended that the accused inflicted a loss of Rs 40 billion to government entities by selling shares on inflated rates. He sold shares through Azgard Nine company, NAB lawyer further argued.

The court reserved its verdict on the matter after the lawyers concluded their arguments before the bench.

According to reports a recently held meeting of the NAB board chaired by its Chairman Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal decided to transform the inquiry against Ali Jahangir Siddiqui into an investigation.

Mr Siddiqi was earlier, summoned by the accountability watchdog to defend the alleged role of his company M/s Azgard Nine Limited (ANL), in the manipulation of shares that caused billions of rupees losses of to the national exchequer.

NAB was probing affairs of the company with regard to siphoning off funds amounting to 23.7 million euros in 2008, which were used to purchase an Italian Company, Monte Bello SRL.

The NAB said the shares of a company named Agritech Limited were sold to various financial and government institutions at an inflated rate than the market to settle loan defaults. This resulted in a loss of Rs 40 billion to a number of financial and government institutions.