Amraiz Khan
Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has reopened an inquiry into alleged corruption scam worth billions of rupees in Customs Intelligence & Investigations, well-placed sources in the agency confided to “Pakistan Observer on Saturday.
FIA investigator issued notices to the senior Customs officers including Jamil Nasir Khan, Chief Customs Headquarters, Constitution Avenue, FBR Islamabad, Sumera Omar, Additional Collector Customs Adjudication Faisalabad, Saud Imran Ahmad, Member Technical /member Appellate Tribunal Customs Lahore, Dr. Akhtar Hussain, collector Adjudication Faisalabad who had conducted a departmental inquiry against Shoukat Ali, Ex collector Customs Faisalabad.
FIA investigator also asked them to attend his office on February 26, along with the enquiry report and forensic audit report against Shoukat.
The notice further spoke, “You were directed to attend this office on February 17 but you failed to appear”. The notice warned the officers that in case of non-compliance legal action will be taken under the relevant provision of law.
It is pertinent to mention here that inquiry against Shoukat Ali was started in the year 2018 on the charges of corruption worth billions of rupees. Customs authorities have been trying to hush-up the issue for the last two years but a former sepoy of the department drew the attention of FIA towards the matter. FIA investigators demanded record of the case but customs officers were reluctant to provide the same. Ultimately on interruption of the Lahore High Court, when it asked FIA to finalize the inquiry expeditiously, Customs authorities provided record to the agency.
The inquiry was closed on January 16, 2019 on the recommendation of Additional Director FIA, Farid Shah on the grounds best known to him. He was heading the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) but at the time of closure he did not take his team members on board. Then the applicant approached Prime Minster Portal and requested PM Imran Khan to intervene. On direction of Director General FIA the inquiry was reopened against Shoukat Ali.
There were 80 cases of embezzlement in which Customs Intelligence staff sold the precious goods to a private person and showed it in record a deal with Canteen Store Department (CSD) of armed forces. On counter check, the CSD management refused to accept any such purchase.
Customs Intelligence authorities registered a case against an intelligence officer Hameed for selling a single consignment to Zafar (a private person) and that consignment is worth more than Rs. 15 million. “There are about 79 such cases wherein 79 times consignments were sold to private persons in the name of CSD and nobody took notice of the irregularities,” said a customs officer while talking to this scribe.
Embezzlement started from the year 2011 and continued till 2018 but no officer bothered to check the working of Inspector Hameed who was posted as store keeper for such a long period.
One former employee of Customs intelligence Amir alleged that blue eyed officials were posted in Customs intelligence for corruption purpose. He has filed applications to chairman NAB, director FIA, chairman FBR and Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) and all offices have taken up his applications and started inquiries into the matter. He claimed that Mushtaq Sargana was right hand of DG Customs Intelligence and influenced transfers and postings of the officials in Customs Intelligence. He believed that inspector Zulfiqar Dogar was arrested by the FIA red handed while taking bribe from an importer and a case was registered against him with FIA. But after some time, he was again posted at the same post due to unknown reasons. It is pertinent to mention here that FIA has also started an investigation into the million dollar scandal, happened with the connivance of Torkham custom station management at Pak-Afghan border. On the other hand FBR also formed a Joined Investigation Team (JIT) that will inspect the non-custom paid as well as the FIR filed vehicles at Torkham custom station and directed to provide the report of this investigation within 14 days.
