ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Tuesday again questioned the performance of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and reprimanded its official for undue delay in registering a case against the accused allegedly involved in the Rs 1.70 billion cryptocurrency fraud case.
A two-member bench of the apex court headed by designated Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandiyal rejected the bail plea of accused Wasim Jeb and directed the anti-corruption body to register a case against him.
During the hearing, Justice Qazi Muhammad Amin Ahmed observed that NAB has committed criminal negligence for not registering the case against the accused even after two years. At the beginning of the hearing, the NAB Special Prosecutor, opposing the bail plea of the accused, submitted before the court that Wasim Jeb had fraudulently collected Rs 1.70 billion from citizens and deposited the money in a cryptocurrency account.
The officer informed the court that the evidence and statements of the affected citizens are on record. The counsel for the accused told the court that his client has been accused of taking money from citizens. However, the receipt for the amount has not yet been received. The NAB special prosecutor argued that people who take cryptocurrency are given a digital coin.
Justice Umer Ata Bandiyal told the NAB special prosecutor that he had heard about cryptocurrencies and bitcoin. What is this? The Special Prosecutor at NAB responded that citizens were given digital coins in exchange for money.
Justice Qazi Muhammad Amin Ahmed observed that taking money without receipt is the real art of the accused. The judge immediately questioned the investigation conducted by the anti-corruption body in the case and asked the officer why the bureau had not yet traced the assets of the accused. Justice Qazi Amin remarked, "So is the position of the investigation by the anti-corruption body in the mega scam, in which the bureau has no basic knowledge." He said that NAB does not record reference against the accused and then the courts are blamed for it. In the meantime, after hearing the parties, the court rejected the bail application of the accused.