Pakistan's fugitive former oil and gas chief has been arrested in Abu Dhabi on suspicion of embezzling $850 million in a scandal that could spark a criminal case against the prime minister, an official said yesterday.
Tauqir Sadiq was arrested a week after Pakistan's top court ordered a case to be registered against Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf over the matter, raising pressure on the government as it nears the end of its five-year term in office.
Sadiq is accused of taking $850 million in kickbacks and commissions while head of Pakistan's oil and gas regulatory authority between 2009 and 2011, at a time when Ashraf was water and power minister. Sadiq fled Pakistan last year.
On January 24, the court ordered a case to be registered against Ashraf, Interior Minister Rehman Malik and another member of the main ruling Pakistan People's Party over Sadiq's appointment in 2009 and absconding in 2012.