Plea Bargain’ a commonly used term nowadays, has now been taken into action with regard to the massive load of pending corruption cases. The term refers to a discounted arrangement between the two parties (the prosecutor and the defendant), whereby the defendant is charged with a lesser sentence against a lawful consideration.
The defendants have an option to opt for the plea bargain, under which they are liable to pay a certain sum of money meticulously calculated, according to the nature of the case.
According to SAPM on Accountability Shehzad Akbar, recoveries under a plea bargain in fake bank account cases have begun and a sum of 2.12 billion rupees have been received. He tweeted in the said regard as, “First major recovery of 2.1 Billion n a breakthrough in #FakeAccountsCase one accused enters Plea bargain n admits his guilt n role in sham deals in Sindh in one of Omni group matters. More to follow @PTIofficial good job JIT & NAB?”
The recovery was made in Nooriabad Power Project case, by Syed Asif Mahmood – CEO of M/S Technomen Kinetic Pvt. Ltd and Syed Arif Ali – Director of Nooriabad Power Company on their free will.
In another case, Harsh Ji from M/s Harish and Company was accused of misusing the funds received from the Sindh Special Initiative Department for water supply contract. The company could not complete the project and funds were allegedly used for Naudero House.
National Accountability Bureau has accepted the request for a plea bargain from Harsh Ji on his free will for Rs.20.03 million. On payment of the amount, his name would be removed from the list of accused by NAB.
Shehzad Akbar acknowledged the efforts of NAB and Joint Investigation Team on the achievement and expressed his anticipation that much more recoveries will follow.