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Archive for category Corruption

WHO HELPED IN PAYMENT OF $32 MILLION TO BROADSHEET? by Arshad Sharif,The Reporter’s Diary

Posted by admin in " RIAZ THE SHAITAN OF PAKISTAN, Asif Zardari Crook Par Excellance, Corruption, CROOKS, CRY THE BELOVED COUNTRY, Economic Hitmen, Economy, FINANCIAL TERRORISTS, Focus 24/7, Rape of Pakistan, Scams & Frauds Under Crooked Govts on January 16th, 2021

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WHO HELPED IN PAYMENT OF $32 MILLION TO BROADSHEET?

AN INSIDER’S CONMAN JOB!

By

\

ARSHAD SHARIF

 –

 January 15, 2021

The Reporter’s Diary

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Islamabad, January 15:  Successive governments and National Accountability Bureau (NAB) made questionable payments of atleast US $32 Million to different companies in Broadsheet scam from 2008 till now without challenging the re-instatement of companies which were dissolved in 2007. 

Government of Pakistan (GoP) also paid millions of dollars as fees to the lawyers in addition to the US$32 Million questionable payments to Broadsheet which had links to a few important people in Pakistani power corridors. How many million dollars have been paid to lawyers internationally and locally by GoP and NAB remains a well-guarded secret in the scam.

“I had been requesting the relevant people to challenge the re-instatement order of Broadsheet in Isle of Man but no one was interested,” said a well-placed source, adding, “unless the money is distributed, how will people get their share.”

Disbursement of atleast US $32 Million include payment of US $1.5 Million to Broadsheet, $2.2 to International Asset Recovery (IAR) and US$ 28 Million to reinstated Broadsheet.

“In addition to US$1,500,000 paid to or to order of Mr. James under the Settlement Agreement, NAB paid US$2,250,000 in settlement of the claims by IAR, also in about 2008,” reads an order of settlement in the case.

The first tranche of questionable payments were made when Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) was in power, Navid Ahsan was Chairman NAB and Sardar Latif Khosa was Attorney General of Pakistan.

Sardar Latif Khosa later represented Broadsheet LLC in Supreme Court of Pakistan in 2018 to seek access to Volume 10 of Joint Investigation Team (JIT) report to be used to assess the quantum of damages sought in the international arbitration.

Who actually owns Broadsheet LLC, an offshore company, is a question which has baffled Pakistani officialdom. The multi-million dollar question finds mention in a communication sent by Broadsheet’s lawyers, Crowell & Moring LLP, to Pakistani authorities in March 2019 in the following words”

Zafar Ali, QC

“Mr. Ali informed Mr. Moussavi that people in Pakistan wanted to “know who he is” after dealing with him for years, and whether Broadsheet was being funded by Zardari and the Bhutto Family. Mr. Moussavi told Mr. Ali that was nonsense, that he had no connection whatsoever with Zardari, and never would, and that in his view Mr.Ali was being pushed aside by others in Pakistan eager to pursue the Sharif funds in Singapore for themselves.”

Imran Khan, Prime Minister of Pakistan

Prime Minister Imran Khan has recently ordered an investigation to find how the Broadsheet case was mishandled by previous governments resulting in penalty of millions of dollars against Pakistan.

It is surprising that settlement was made with Broadsheet without due diligence by GoP and NAB in 2008 despite the fact that the company was dissolved in April 2007. The fact finds mention in the settlement order in following words:

“In April 2007, when Broadsheet (IoM) was formally dissolved, negotiations were in progress between NAB, represented by their lawyer, Mr. Soofi, and Mr. James’s former associates representing another company, IAR, which had made an agreement similar to the ARA (but relating to other parts of the World) in 2000 at about the same time as he entered into the ARA on behalf of Broadsheet. 

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In addition, Mr. James began to negotiate a Settlement Agreement with NAB represented by Mr. Soofi representing that he, Mr. James, was authorised to represent Broadsheet, notwithstanding (and without disclosing) that the company was in liquidation and was recently formally dissolved.

His purpose in doing this can readily be inferred from the facts that at about this time he formed a new Colorado company, also called Broadsheet, which he represented was a successor to Broadsheet IoM. When the Settlement Agreement was signed on 20 May 2008 it provided that NAB would make payments totaling US$1,500,000, in settlement of claims made under the ARA, not to Broadsheet IoM or its Liquidator but to Broadsheet Colorado which Mr. James controlled and in effect to him personally. When these facts became known to Mr. Moussavi, he took steps to have the dissolution of Broadsheet set aside. A new Liquidator was appointed who has authorised these arbitration proceedings against NAB (Notice of Arbitration was given on 23 October 2009). 

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Naveed Ahsan, Former Chairman NABThe Settlement Agreement was authorised for NAB by an executive decision in which Mr. Soofi was not involved. There is no evidence as to who the decision makers were. The Governor of NAB at that time was Mr. Ahsan.”

The settlement order gives details about dissolution of Broadsheet, raising fundamental question why re-instatement was not challenged in Isle of Man either by GoP or NAB.

“When the ARA terminated in Oct./Dec.2003, Broadsheet was a trading company registered in the Isle of Man. Mr. James was its executive chairman and controlling shareholder. Mr. Tisdale was involved in its affairs by virtue of being Mr. James’s legal adviser, and Mr. Tariq Fawad Malik effectively was its local representative in Pakistan. On 19 May 2003, the company’s former legal adviser in Jersey obtained a default judgment for outstanding fees in the sum of about £29,000 (“the Sinel judgement”). On 1 April 2004 the Sinel judgment was registered against Broadsheet in the Isle of Man. Winding-up proceedings against the Company based on non-payment of the judgment debt were commenced in the Isle of Man in February 2005 and a Winding-up Order was made on 2-7 March 2005. On 2 April 2007 the company was formally dissolved. Meanwhile, Mr. James remained active in business and/or financial affairs in the USA. On 4 January 2005 he purported to assign to a Colorado company, Steeplechase Financial Services LLC, “all his right, title and interest in … connection with [the ARA]” signing the Assignment as chairman of Broadsheet and ‘Manager’ of Broadsheet. He did not notify NAB of the Assignment nor did he communicate with the Liquidator who was appointed in the Isle of Man shortly afterwards, in February/March 2005.”

Interestingly enough, when the questionable payments were made a year later to a company dissolved in 2007, the damage claims were again accepted in 2009. 

Second payment of atleast US $28 million was facilitated in December 2020 when Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf led by Prime Minister Imran Khan was in office.

A senior government official with knowledge of the case said a number of questions need to be answered as to who facilitated payments to Broadsheet once again in December 2020 when clear instructions were given by Attorney General office to keep “bare minimum” cash in accounts of Pakistani missions abroad.

Public Accounts Committee and Foreign Affairs Committee of National Assembly of Pakistan have ordered probe in the broadsheet scam.

Answers to a few of the following questions can expose a few characters who facilitated payment of atleast US $28 million to Broadsheet through Pakistan High Commission bank account in London:

 1. Why such a big amount was lying in Pakistan High Commission’s account when arbitration was ongoing and instructions were passed to keep bare minimum cash in bank accounts for official use?

2. When the amount of US $28 million was transferred to High Commission’s account and for what purpose? Who authorized transfer of funds to account of High Commission?

3. What had been the average Monthly balance in High Commission’s account during last 36 months?

4. How Broadsheet came to know about huge balance in High Commission’s account and specific account number to ensure implementation of damages claim?

5. Why diplomatic immunity was not invoked and if invoked at what stage and when?

6. Does it prima facie not seem an arranged and corroborative move to facilitate Broadsheet to recover the money?

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India is too corrupt to become a Superpower

Posted by admin in Corruption, INDIA FRAUD on November 8th, 2020

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India is too corrupt to become a superpower

Ed Note: This author shows a bias towards Pakistan and like all Indians carries the seeds of racism and bigotry.

The sociologist Ashis Nandy once noted that “in India the choice could never be between chaos and stability, but between manageable and unmanageable chaos”. He wrote this in the 1980s, a decade marked by ethnic strife, caste violence, and bloody religious riots. But it applies even more so to the India of today, and is being made worse by the steady deterioration and corruption of India’s ruling political elite.
Throughout India’s history the manifestations of its chaos have been largely social and political: from secessionist movements and sectarian pogroms, to its enduring territorial conflicts with China and Pakistan.
The bomb blasts in Mumbai last week are but the latest example. The perpetrators are as yet unidentified: like the 2008 Mumbai attacks, they may have originated from Pakistan, but whoever they turn out to be, this was a familiar example of one of India’s pervasive and long-standing fault lines.
Yet the Republic of India today faces challenges that are as much moral as social or political, with the Mumbai blasts having only temporarily shifted off the front pages the corruption scandals that more recently dominated. These have revealed that manner in which our politicians have abused the state’s power of eminent domain, its control of infrastructural contracts, and its monopoly of natural resources, to enrich themselves. Rectifying this is now arguably India’s defining challenge.
These scandals implicate many of the country’s most powerful leaders. They include the large scale looting of mineral resources in southern and eastern India; graft during the organising of the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi; the underpricing of mobile phone contracts to the tune of billions of dollars; and also numerous property and housing scandals in Mumbai. Corruption is not new in India, but the scale and ubiquity of these problems is genuinely unprecedented.
This activity cuts across political parties – small and large, regional and national. It has tainted the media too, with influential editors now commonly lobbying pliant politicians to bend the law to favour particular corporations. But while journalists may collude, and many companies and corporate titans have benefited, the chief promoters of this malaise have been the politicians themselves.
There is a curious paradox here; for India is the creation of a generation of visionary and selfless leaders who governed it in the first decades of freedom. These men and women united a disparate nation from its fragments; gave it a democratic constitution; and respected linguistic and especially religious pluralism, out of the conviction that India should not become a Hindu Pakistan. Today’s scandals, however, have their origin in the steady deterioration in the character of this Indian political class.
Surging growth is another proximate cause. Economic liberalisation has created wealth and jobs, and a class of entrepreneurs unshackled by the state. But its darker side is manifest in rising income inequalities and sweetheart deals between politicians and favoured businessmen, leading to the loss of billions of dollars to the public exchequer.
Was this necessary or inevitable? Perhaps not. The truth is that since 1991, the word “reform” has been defined in narrowly commercial terms, as meaning the withdrawal of the state from economic activity. The reform and renewal of public institutions has been ignored. It is this neglect that has led to a steady corrosion in state capacity, as manifest in the growing failure to moderate inequalities, manage social conflict, and enforce fair and efficient governance.
This could have been anticipated. Over the past three decades, a series of commissions have highlighted the need for institutional reforms, that, among other things, would insulate administrators and judges from interference by capricious politicians; prohibit criminals from contesting elections; curb abuse of the power of eminent domain; provide proper compensation for villagers displaced by industrial projects; make more efficient the now mostly malfunctioning public health system.
Many, perhaps all, of these reports have been read by Manmohan Singh, India’s scholarly prime minister; indeed, several were commissioned by him. Which is why the inaction on their recommendations is so disheartening. When Mr Singh became prime minister seven years ago, his appointment was widely welcomed. He was seen as incorruptible, and with the added advantage of a lifetime of public service. Tragically, in terms of concrete institutional reform these have been seven wasted years.
To single out an honest and intelligent man when corruption and criminality flourish may seem unfair. But W.B. Yeats was right: it is when the best lack intensity and conviction that we must fear for ourselves and our future. Mr Singh has been content to let things ride. He has not asserted himself against corrupt cabinet colleagues, nor has he promoted greater efficiency in public administration. Whatever the cause – personal diffidence or a India dependence, in political terms, on Sonia Gandhi,  his party president – this inactivity has greatly damaged his credibility, not to say India itself.
If nothing else, the current wave of corruption scandals will put at least a temporary halt to premature talk of India’s imminent rise to superstardom. Such fancies are characteristic of editors in New Delhi and businessmen in Mumbai, who dream often of catching up with and even surpassing China. Yet the truth is that India is in no position to become a superpower. It is not a rising power, nor even an emerging power. It is merely a fascinating, complex, and perhaps unique experiment in nationhood and democracy, whose leaders need still to attend to the fault lines within, rather than presume to take on the world without.
The writer is a historian whose books include India after Gandhi and Makers of Modern India. He lives in Bangalore.

Corrupt India, India Caste Violence, India Ethnic Strife

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325 acres of Agriculture land under Illegal Occupation of EX-MNA Daniyal Aziz

Posted by admin in Corruption, CORRUPTION OF SHAHBAZ SHARIF, Scams & Frauds Under Crooked Govts on October 7th, 2018

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CAT IS OUT OF BAG. 
REASON FOR BEING MOST VOCAL DEFENDER OF CROOKS & CRIMINALS IS NOW UNDERSTANDABLE. POOR GUY.

سرگودھا: (دنیا نیوز) سرگودھا میں محکمہ اینٹی کرپشن نے پولیس، ایلیٹ فورس اور دیگر اداروں کے ہمراہ سرگودھا کی تحصیل سلانوالی میں مسلم لیگ (ن) کے سابق وفاقی وزیر دانیال عزیز کے زیر قبضہ 325 ایکڑ اراضی ہیوی مشینری کے ذریعے واگزار کرا لی۔

محکمہ اینٹی کرپشن کے ڈائریکٹر عاصم رضا کو سورس رپورٹ کے ذریعے معلوم ہوا کہ سرکاری رقبہ تقریباً 325 ایکڑ انور عزیز نے 1960ء میں محکمہ لائیو سٹاک سے لیز پر لیا تھا، جس کی لیز کی مدت 2000ء میں ختم ہو گئی اور 18 سال سے اس سرکاری زمین پر ناجائز قبضہ چلا آ رہا تھا جس کے معاملات سابق وفاقی وزیر دانیال عزیز ڈیل کرتے تھے، جس پر ڈائریکٹر اینٹی کرپشن نے ڈپٹی دائریکٹر اینٹی کرپشن عروج الحسن اور اسسٹنٹ ڈائریکٹر مانیٹرنگ اسرار کاظم کو انکوائری آفیسر مقرر کیا۔

دوران انکوائری ریکارڈ کی مکمل چھان بین کی گئی اور موقع ملاحظہ کیا گیا تو پتہ چلا کہ 325 ایکڑ رقبہ جس کی لیز انور عزیز کے نام ہوئی تھی پر اب 18 سال سے ناجائز قبضہ ہے اور اس پر کاشت ہو رہی ہے، ڈپٹی ڈائریکٹر اینٹی کرپشن عروج الحسن کی سربراہی میں اسسٹنٹ کمشنر سلانوالی رفاقت باجوہ، تحصیلدار اور پولیس کی بھاری نفری نے موقع پر پہنچ کر اراضی واگزار کرائی اور وسیع و عریض رقبے پر بنے ہوئے درجن سے زائد ڈیرہ جات مسمار کر کے زمین سرکاری تحویل میں لے لی گئی۔

سے باہر لانا ہ

Crooks & Criminals, EX-MNA Daniyal Aziz

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Siyasat Daan Siyasat Daan Kha Gaye Sara Pakistan-Dedicated to Nawaz Sharif & Mulla Diesel

Posted by Rose in Corruption on January 8th, 2018

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Corrupt Pakistani Politicians

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Pakistan’s foreign debt to hit $80b in June-2017 Business Recorder

Posted by qinsarfaraz in CURRENT EVENTS, Pakistan's Debt Bomb on June 1st, 2017

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Pakistan’s foreign debt to hit $80b in June-2017

 

Dr Ashfaque H. Khan, Pakistan’s renowned economist, former economic adviser to Ministry of Finance and Principal/Dean, NUST School of Social Sciences & Humanities says the external debt of Pakistan would increase to $80 billion in June-2017 and current account deficit is deteriorating because of non-serious approach of the government. Here is his latest article on balance of payment deterioration that he sent to the Editor Corporate Ambassador, Javed Mahmood, for sharing with readers and social media friends7th-awards00

Pakistan’s balance of payments is rapidly deteriorating since the beginning of the fiscal year 2016-17 for a variety of reasons; while independent economists have been expressing their serious concerns; the government and particularly the country’s finance minister appear to have lost interest in addressing this ominous development in external balance of payments. This is indeed a matter of serious concern and hence the subject matter of this article.

7th-awards002

Dr Ashfaque H. Khan is sitting on stage as Chief Guest at the 7th awards, organised in Islamabad in Feb 2017.

The readers would recall that I made a presentation in a Debt Conference organized by a local think tank on November 12, 2016 in Islamabad. In my presentation, I forecasted that the current account deficit for the current fiscal year (2016-17) would reach $7.5 billion as against $2.5 billion in the previous year (2015-16). Furthermore, the financing requirement for the year would reach $14.5 billion ($7.0 billion for debt servicing).  Accordingly, Pakistan’s external debt and liabilities would touch $80.3 billion by end–June 2017, rising from $73 billion in end-June 2016. In order to address the rising current account deficit and external debt, I gave several recommendations.


Instead of taking my projection seriously and taking corrective measures to address the ominous development, the finance minister reacted angrily through his lengthy article on debt (February 1, 2017, Business Recorder). He charged me and my fellow independent economists (without naming of course), for being selective in presenting the facts, misinterpreting the facts, predicting doomsday scenario for Pakistan’s debt and the overall balance of payments, venting bias through writings, and most importantly committing disservice to the nation.

May I ask the honorable finance minister to tell us the latest position of current account deficit and debt? Isn’t it true that the current account deficit has reached $7.247 billion during the ten months (July – April) of the current fiscal year while two more months still are to go? Isn’t it going to touch somewhere between $8.5 – 9.0 billion in 2016-17? Isn’t it a fact that the Moody’s Investor Services has predicted that Pakistan’s external debt would reach $79 billion by end-June 2017 as opposed to my forecast of $80 billion?

What are your views Mr. Honorable Finance Minister on these developments? Were we wrong in predicting these developments some six month ago? Did we create doomsday scenario for Pakistan’s external debt and current account deficit? Did we commit disservice to the nation by projecting the ground reality? Or, did you commit disservice to the nation by misguiding the people of Pakistan? We need your answer Mr. Finance Minister?

Why have we landed in such a difficult situation today? The current account deficit for the first ten months (July – April) of the current fiscal year has amounted $7.247 billion as compared with $2.378 billion in the comparable period of last year, which is deteriorated by 205 percent. What has caused such a massive deterioration in current account deficit in this fiscal year? At least two main reasons can be identified. Firstly, massive deterioration in trade balance owing to the decline in exports on the one hand and extra – ordinary surge in imports on the other. Secondly, significant decline in external inflows, namely remittances and Coalition Support Fund (CSF). These two inflows primarily have been responsible for keeping current account deficit low in the past.

What has happened on export front? Exports have declined from over $25 billion in 2013-14 to less than $22 billion in 2015-16—a decline of over 12 percent in two years. Exports are down by 1.3 percent in the first ten months of the current fiscal year and expected to touch $21.5 billion by the end of the fiscal year – a decline of 2.1 percent compared with last year. What has caused a steady decline in the exports? There are several factors that have contributed to the steady decline in exports. These include: i) senseless taxation to achieve revenue targets under the IMF Programme, rendering Pakistan’s exports non-competitive in the international market; ii) holding back refunds  of exporters’ to jack up revenue and hence creating serious liquidity problem for the exporters. Exporters were forced to borrow from commercial banks to run their factories and meet the importers demand. This has added to the cost of their doing business; iii) infrastructural bottlenecks such as the availability and prices of electricity, gas and water which have made our exporters non-competitive; iv) keeping the exchange rate at a level which is not consistent with the country’s macroeconomic fundamentals; v) little or no communication between exporters and the country’s chief executive; vi) relatively poor business environment in the country.

In short, the government itself continued to pursue policies that have eroded the competitiveness of Pakistani exporters in international market. The IMF is an equal partner to such misguided policies which have damaged Pakistani exports.

What has happened on the import front? Persistence of overvalued exchange rate has encouraged imports despite massive reduction in oil import bill owing to the sharp decline in international price of oil. As compared with the benchmark year of 2013-14, Pakistan has saved over $13 billion in the last three years owing to the decline in oil prices. During the first ten months (July – April) of the current fiscal year, Pakistan’s imports has registered an increase of 15.5 percent to reach $38 billion.

What has caused import to surge in 2016-17? The government has tried to hide behind the imports of CPEC—related projects, particularly power sector—related projects. This is factually untrue. Total imports bills have increased by $5.089 billion in the first ten months (July–April), of which almost 34 percent ($1.722 billion) contribution came from the import of petroleum group. Within petroleum group, the surge is mainly caused by the import of petroleum products, LNG and LPG. The latter two are the new entrant to our import bill. Pakistan has imported $1.128 billion of gas in the first ten months of the current fiscal year as against $537 million in the same period last year. Going forward, import of gas will continue to rise with serious consequences to the balance of payments.

Besides import of petroleum group, machinery imports contributed 16.2 percent ($823 million) to the rise in overall import bill. In fact, the contribution of import of power generating machinery in total increase in import was nearly 1.8 percent. The contribution of food and transport import in the rise of overall import stood at 14 percent and 11.4 percent, respectively. Thus, almost 71 percent contribution to the surge in overall import came from four groups, namely petroleum, machinery, food and transport while power generation machinery contributed negligibly.

Even an ordinary student of economics could see the ominous developments taking place in Pakistan’s balance of payments. I and others could forecast these developments six months ago. But what is so painful to see is that the staff of the IMF attached with Pakistani desk failed miserably in predicting these developments in the balance of payments. Their forecast went haywire within one quarter of the current fiscal year. How can the IMF staff go so wrong in their prediction of exports, imports, current account deficit, budget deficit and so on? This speaks volume, in the words of Dr. Hafiz Pasha, about the quality of work produced by the IMF staff working on Pakistani desk. This is not the IMF staff that I have dealt with for over a decade. Perhaps they deliberately kept their eyes and ears closed and in so doing they committed, in the words of Shahid Kardar—the former Governor of the Central Bank—‘academic dishonesty’.

Where do I see balance of payments and debt situation in the next year? If the current non-serious attitude of the government persists and reckless borrowing with pride and pleasure continues, Pakistan is likely to face serious balance of payment crisis in 2017-18. Since the government is in the last year of its tenure, this is highly unlikely that it can implement any meaningful reforms to promote exports. This is the year of promises and giving, with little resources in the pocket. Imports will continue to surge because of the inappropriate exchange rate and expansionary fiscal and monetary policies fueling aggregate demand. Accordingly, the current account deficit is likely to remain in their range of $12.5–13.5 billion in 2017-18. With debt servicing requirement rising to $9.0 billion in 2017-18, the total financing requirement for the year would be in the range of $21.5–22.5 billion. Likely availability of external financing is estimated at $12.5 billion, thus leaving a financing gap of $9-10 billion. Where has this amount come from? Accordingly, our external debt and liabilities would cross $90 billion by end-June 2018.

This is the emerging picture of Pakistan’s balance of payments for the year 2017-18. My request to the finance minister is that he should not shoot the messenger; the messenger has established its credibility in 2016-17; take my calculation seriously and do whatever you can to prevent the crisis.

Destructive IMF Programme, Economic Hitmen on Prowl, Exports have declined, Pakistan’s balance of payments

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