KARACHI: The Sindh High Court has granted protective pre-arrest bail to ex-National Bank of Pakistan president Syed Ali Raza in a National Accountability Bureau’s inquiry pertaining to a Rs18 billion scam at Bangladesh branch.
Syed Ali Raza moved the court to obtain protective bail in connection with the NAB’s call-up notice for alleged loss of Rs18 billion to the national exchequer by officers of the NBP Bangladesh Operations.
According to NAB, the NBP Bangladesh branch gave loans amounting to $185 million without securing collaterals from 2001 to 2013 and, in certain cases, the branch released securities without recovering the loans.
The NAB also started a probe into the conduct of some NBP officers who were accused of abusing their powers in the processing and sanctioning of credit limits, wilfully avoiding proper valuation of securities offered by borrowers and causing losses of $185 million to the national exchequer.
The petitioner’s counsel submitted that his client was not a beneficiary of the scam and he was willing to cooperate with the investigation team. He expressed apprehension of arrest by the NAB and sought protective pre-arrest bail.
