Karachi (Staff Report): An accountability court on Thursday indicted Pakistan Peoples party (PPP) leader Sharjeel Memon and 11 others in a corruption case pertaining to the award of advertisements at 'exorbitant rates'.
The hearing was held in a sealed courtroom, where no media and non-essential personnel were allowed. The hearing has been adjourned until March 3.
All the men indicted in the case pleaded not guilty to charges of corruption.
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Oct 23, 2017 arrested the former provincial minister after the Sindh High Court (SHC) rejected his bail plea in a Rs 5.76 billion graft case.
SHC Chief Justice Justice Ahmed Ali Shaikh dismissed the request of the suspects to extend their bails. However, the court rejected their bail , ordering their immediate arrest .
Following orders, contingents of Rangers arrived outside the courtroom to implement the orders of the provincial high court.
Memon along with suspects have been accused of corruption worth Rs 5.76 billion in the award of advertisements of the Sindh government’s awareness campaigns in the electronic media.
It was alleged that advertising agencies suppressed the invoices issued by the media and showed much higher amounts, while as per settled practice, advertising agencies were entitled to get only 15 percent agency commission against the total bill.
The reference filed by the NAB said that Evernew Concepts (Pvt) Ltd was paid Rs 4,154,585,676, Orient Communication Rs 320,062,994, Adarts Karachi Rs 317,338,970, Connect Marketing Rs 310,474,132, Value Added Marketing Rs 205,827,587, Xnine Communications Rs 374,546,739 and Insync Advertisement was paid Rs 83, 643,668.