ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Court in Lahore on Friday handed over former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s principal secretary, Fawad Hassan Fawad, to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on 14-day physical remand, reported Radio Pakistan.
Fawad was arrested on Thursday after he failed to satisfy the anti-graft body over his alleged association with the Ashiana-e-Iqbal housing scam.
He is charged on various counts of alleged corruption, including the Ashiana-e-Iqbal case, and working in a private bank from 2005 to 2006 without formal permission.
The country’s top watchdog requested that the accountability court grant physical remand of the accused for further investigation.
Fawad wrongfully awarded the Ashiana-e-Iqbal contract to “favorites” when it was legally won by construction company Chaudhry Latif and Sons, NAB officials said.
This resulted in the government having to pay 5.9 million Pakistani rupees ($48,470) in compensation to the company. Due to the delay, the project’s cost escalated by billions of rupees.
Additionally, in his capacity as provincial health secretary, Fawad is said to have acquired six mobile health units purchased at a higher-than-market rate, said the officials.
He is also being probed by the NAB for possessing assets beyond known sources of income. Sharif on Thursday called Fawad’s arrest “regrettable.”
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