ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has recovered Rs340 million in plea bargains in corruption and fraud cases, including the rental power plants (RPP) case, and returned the money to the affected people and government departments concerned.

Of the amount, Rs232m was recovered from the management of a local power generation company, Techno-E-Power.

The last PPP government had initiated the RPP plan in 2008 to end loadshedding across the country and awarded contracts to 12 companies, but the scheme failed and none of the firms is now generating power under the contract.

“In the case of Techno-E-Power, Sammundri, Faisalabad, NAB recovered Rs232.12m and handed over to officials of the Northern Power Generation Company Limited,” a spokesman said.

According to an investigation report, the total liability in this case was Rs2.8 billion and Rs771m had been recovered.

NAB returned the recovered amount to the affected people and departments at a ceremony held at its Rawalpindi office on Thursday.

Barrister Zafarullah Khan, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister for Human Rights, was the chief guest.

In another case, accused Chaudhry Tassaduq Pervez, chief executive of the Capital Builders, along with others, had launched a housing scheme named New Islamabad Garden in Sector C-17 and booked more than 3,000 plots in 2005 without getting a no-objection certificate from the Capital Development Authority. The company owned only 305 kanals at the time of the booking.

NAB investigated the matter on complaints received from general public after which the accused came forward and submitted an application for a plea bargain, which was accepted by the bureau and approved by the Islamabad Accountability Court.

Chaudhry Pervez paid Rs209m under the bargain against claims of 1,145 people.

NAB had earlier returned Rs188m to victims of the scheme in five phases.

Published in Dawn, March 31st, 2017