The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has claimed that its reported recoveries of nearly Rs9 trillion over the past two years are not cash-based, but largely consist of land and properties reclaimed from illegal occupation, following major legal changes that reshaped the agency’s mandate.
After amending the National Accountability Ordinance in 2022, NAB officials say the reforms expanded the bureau’s practical role by enabling it to assist government institutions in retrieving vast tracts of public land worth trillions of rupees.
NAB claims that from its inception in 1999 until March 2023, it had recovered $3.15 billion. Since March 2023, however, recoveries have surged to $29.99 billion, mostly in the form of non-monetary assets. Cash recoveries during this period total Rs1.124 trillion (roughly $4 billion), with the remainder comprising properties and land.
According to the NAB Chairman, retired Lt Gen Nazir Ahmed Butt, the accountability bureau has received Rs62 billion in government funding over 26 years, while securing recoveries worth Rs9 trillion, a performance he characterised as unmatched globally for an anti-corruption body.
Documents show the 2022 amendments introduced mandatory affidavits from complainants, replaced the term accused with defendant, and created a streamlined process for handling complaints against parliamentarians, officials and businessmen. Accountability Facilitation Cells were also established in national and provincial assemblies, the Establishment Division and the offices of chief secretaries.
The chairman said lawmakers and business figures are now engaged only through their respective speakers or chambers, a change he said has restored confidence among bureaucrats who had been reluctant to process sensitive files.
NAB has since prioritised the recovery of misappropriated, underutilised, illegally possessed and unregistered state land. It is also intensifying efforts to curb money laundering, track illegal foreign assets, freeze bank accounts and properties, and accelerate the recovery of proceeds of crime.
