SC told Rs7.5bn of Rs9bn BoP loan scam recovered

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court was told here on Monday that Rs7.5 billion, out of the Rs9 billion Bank of Punjab (BoP) loan scam, had been recovered from Sheikh Afzal, the chief executive of the Haris Steel Industry, and his accomplices by seizing foreign and domestic assets owned by the accused.
 
A three-judge bench, comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali and Justice Khilji Arif Hussain, which had taken up the petition of the Bank of Punjab against the steel concern also withdrew the protection it earlier had granted to Seth Nisar, one of Sheikh Afzal’s brothers and co-accused in the scam, when it was informed that he was not cooperating with the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). The court ordered the bureau and other investigating agencies to proceed against him according to the law.

Monitoring cells for NRO cases

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry on Friday named Justice Ghulam Rabbani of the Supreme Court as head of the monitoring cell created to monitor the progress in corruption cases under the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Ordinance.

NWFP to shift BoK management control to private sector

Saturday, December 05, 2009
By Riaz Khan Daudzai

PESHAWAR: The minimum capital requirement (MCR) set by the State Bank of Pakistan has forced the NWFP government to transfer management control of the Bank of Khyber (BoK) to the private sector to improve its operating status and overcome the losses it faces due to non-performing loans and other non-profiting assets.

Sources told The News that the provincial government was also planning to inject over Rs1 billion into the bank to prop up its advances portfolio.

SBP governor sees little Dubai impact

KARACHI: Pakistan sees little if any fallout from Dubai’s debt crisis and expects remittances from its workers overseas to grow despite problems in the Gulf, the country’s central bank governor said on Thursday.

Pakistan’s risk premium is improving and it could see inflows if investors decide to leave Dubai, said State Bank Governor Salim Raza.

Pakistan’s forex reserves ease to $13.72 bln

KARACHI: Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves fell to $13.72 billion in the week that ended on November 28 from $13.90 billion the previous week, the central bank said on Thursday.

Reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan were $10.14 billion, down from $10.27 billion a week earlier, while those held by commercial banks also fell to $3.58 billion from $3.63 billion the previous week, the central bank said in a statement.

BoP scam co-accused agrees to pay Rs400m

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered a co-accused in the Rs9 billion Bank of Punjab financial scam to pay back Rs400 million by Dec 11.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, Justice Mian Shakirullah Jan and Justice Tariq Parvez also directed the National Accountability Bureau to place the name of Seth Nisar, who was present in the court, on the Exit Control List and keep his passport with it till the payment of the amount claimed against him.

Seth Nisar is elder brother of Sheikh Afzal, owner of Haris Steel Industries (HSI), Lahore, and the main accused in the BoP scam.