FIA serves notice to PTI MNA Nasrullah Dreshak's sugar mills: sources

• Administration of PTI MNA Nasrullah Dreshak's sugar mills summoned by FIA on April 15.
• FIA demands it present 2020-21 records during the appearance.
• FIA asks sugar mills to present record submitted to FBR.

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Friday issued a notice to PTI MNA Nasrullah Khan Dreshak's Indus sugar mills, sources said, as the agency takes forward its investigation into last year's sugar scandal.

The sugar mills' administration has been summoned on April 15, with the FIA demanding it present records from 2020-21 during the appearance.

Apart from this, the FIA has asked Indus sugar mills to present records submitted to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).

The FIA ​​also sought records of sugar sold and booked through "satta'' (price-fixing through collusion) along with details of brokers and dealers, sources said.

Moreover, the FIA has ordered the sugar mills' administration to bring details of the transactions and communication between sugar mills and sattay baaz (brokers).

Last week, Prime Minister Imran Khan had said the government was taking "serious" steps to curb inflation, as he vowed the regime would not let the "satta" mafia thrive in the country.

Similarly, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) summoned former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's close aide Javed Kiyani for the sugar crisis probe.

Kiyani is currently the vice-chairman of the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PASMA) and was a co-accused in the Hudaibiya Paper Mills case with former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

A former officer of the Ministry of Industries and Production Khizar Hayat has also been summoned by NAB Rawalpindi on April 14.

Meanwhile, Muzammil Pasha, the accountant of the Industries and Production Department has been summoned by the anti-graft body on April 13 in relation to the investigation.

PASMA chairman Sikander Pasha has also been summoned to the corruption watchdog's office, for the second time, next week.

According to the questionnaire seen by Geo News, NAB will inquire from the persons about how the prices of sugar were determined in 2017 and who was responsible for doing so.

The bureau has also sought the records of the proposals forwarded from 2017-2019 for the subsidy on sugar as well as the records of the Punjab Food Department.

PTI leader Jahangir Tareen has so far not been summoned by NAB Rawalpindi. He is being investigated by the Federal Investigative Agency (FIA) in another case.

Read more: 36 bank accounts belonging to Jahangir Tareen, family frozen

NAB forms team to probe subsidy scam

Last year, NAB had constituted a combined investigation team (CIT) of experts to investigate a sugar scam in which a huge subsidy was doled out to mill owners and others on exports.

A NAB spokesman, in a statement, had said the CIT had been constituted in a meeting chaired by Chairman NAB Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal after reviewing the Sugar Commission report in detail.

The CIT has been mandated to conduct the investigations in an impartial, independent, and transparent manner, he had said.

The CIT consists of two investigation officers, financial experts, legal consultants, sugar industry investigation experts, and relevant directors.