NAB clears Ahad Cheema in assets beyond means case

• Ahad Cheema holds assets which correspond with his income: NAB. 
• NAB says re-investigation showed assets were as per his income.
• Anti-graft watchdog's response submitted to court in a report. 

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Monday gave a clean chit to Advisor to Prime Minister on Establishment Ahad Cheema in assets beyond means case, reported Geo News on Monday.

In a report submitted to an accountability court in Lahore, the anti-corruption watchdog stated that their investigations showed that the assets held by the former bureaucrat corresponded with his income.

The response was submitted on a petition seeking acquittal in the case.

In the report, it was stated that benamidars of Cheema had built properties from their personal income and those assets cannot be linked to him.

The NAB has said that the bank accounts of his relatives are not benami accounts of Ahad Cheema. It added that, according to the re-investigation, the total income of Cheema is Rs213 million and expenses are Rs131 million.

The anti-corruption watchdog also stated that in the re-investigation Cheema shared with the NAB his income and profit details which showed that his assets were as per his income. It also stated that it had verified the record submitted by the former civil servant which proved to be correct.

The bureau has now requested the court to give a verdict on Cheema’s acquittal plea based on the law. 

NAB had arrested Cheema on February 21, 2018, to investigate assets beyond means reference and other cases against him. He was released on bail by the Lahore High Court in April 2022.

Earlier this month, Cheema, along with former prime minister Shehbaz Sharif and 10 others, was acquitted in the Ashiana-i-Iqbal Housing Scheme reference by a Lahore accountability court.