NAB set to file references against Raja Ashraf in RPP scam case

ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) will file a supplementary reference against former prime minister Raja Pervez Ashraf in the Rental Power Plants (RPPs) scandal case, Geo News reported.

The NAB chief, Qamar Zaman Chaudhry, has given a 15-day deadline to relevant officials to nail down the graft references against the erstwhile premier.

“The chairman has given the regional office two weeks to finalize the pending references so that necessary action could be initiated on these mega corruption cases,” said a NAB official requesting anonymity.

According to sources the NAB chief was told during a briefing that as many as seven references against Raja Pervez Ashraf in the Rental Power Projects (RPP) are in the final stages with Rawalpindi region.

They added that with the appointment of its chairman the NAB was now in a position to push the envelope further.

When contacted, NAB spokesman Ramazan Sajid confirmed that the NAB chief had directed all officers of the bureau to follow the court orders in letter and spirit, and to meet the given deadlines.

He said the chairman directed the officials to speed up efforts to recover the losses suffered by the state exchequer in the mega corruption cases.

Ashraf faces charges for his allegedly awarding shady contracts to rental power companies while he was minister for power and water during the Pakistan Peoples Party regime.

Last year the projects were ruled as violation of law by the Supreme Court of Pakistan and all the alleged scammers including Ashraf were made subject to investigation.