ISLAMABAD: The corruption cases in the Swiss courts would die down forever in the third week of September due to the statutory limitation bar of 15 years, a former NAB expert on offshore cases says.
Meanwhile, a source claimed Law Minister Farooq H Naek had recently gone to Switzerland, secretly, to secure assurances from the Swiss authorities that nothing would happen if a suitably drafted letter was written to the Swiss authorities after September 2012 when the 15-year time limit expired.
Naek was directly asked by a TV anchor whether he had visited Geneva during the Eid holidays and whether he had taken a draft of the letter to be sent to the Swiss authorities, but he did not deny anything. His answers were evasive. I have visited Switzerland so many times for these cases. I have no further interest. When pressed further, he said: Let us not talk of Eid which has gone, and lets talk about the upcoming Eid.
When the anchor said the next Eid would be the Eid-e-Qurban, meaning sacrifices, the law minister just smiled. But informed sources said the visit of the law minister was aimed at seeking assurances, but he could not meet any Swiss government official directly and had to depend on lawyers and middlemen who talked to Swiss officials and probably showed them the draft of the letter Pakistan might send.
But Barrister Shahzad Akbar, who has been handling these offshore corruption cases in the NAB for five years, told The News that under the Swiss Penal Code, the reopening of the corruption cases would not be possible after September 2012.
Barrister Akbar said the cases of commission and kickbacks were initiated in September 1997 in Switzerland. In September this year (next month), he said, these cases would complete their 15 years limitation bar. After the said date, he said, the Swiss cases could not be reopened and would die down forever.
Though Naek was inaccessible despite leaving messages at his official and residential numbers, and on his mobile (through SMS), sources in Switzerland said Naek also confided to some of his Pakistani friends there about the purpose of his secret visit. The sources said he hinted there that after a few weeks, a letter would be written to the Swiss authorities as per the decision of the Supreme Court in the NRO case.
The PPP government has been dilly-dallying and has even sacrificed its prime minister because it does not want to write the letter before the 15-year limit expires in September. Even on Monday while appearing before the Supreme Court, Prime Minister Pervaiz Ashraf succeeded in getting more time to drag the issue further. The visit to China was successfully used to get a delayed hearing date so that the 15-year limit deadline was crossed.
It is said the tactics being employed are intended to delay the case beyond the expiry date set by the Criminal Procedure Code of Switzerland, a fact further verified through the reading of the statutory law.
Two articles of Criminal Procedure Code of Switzerland, articles 97 and 98, deal with the issues governing the time-limit of prosecution of a case. The right to prosecute, Article 97 explains, is subject to time limit of: (a) 30 years if the offence is punishable by a custodial sentence of life; (b) 15 years, if the offence is punishable by a custodial sentence of more than three years; (c) seven years, if the offence is punishable by a different penalty.
The Article 97 (b) is relevant to the cases. As for the question when the limitation of period begins, the Article 98 states: (a) on the day on which the offender committed the offence; (b) on the day on which the final act was carried out if the offence consists of a series of acts carried out at different times; (c) on the day on which the criminal conduct ceases if the criminal conduct continues over a period of time.
There are certain legal minds who do not subscribe to the idea of time-limit and have a different take. They quote Article 97 (3) that states: If a judgment is issued by a court of first instance before expiry of the limitation period, the time limit no longer applies.
They say a court of examining magistrate Daniel Devoud handed down the first sentence in July 2003.
Barrister Shahzad said the sentencing order of the Swiss magistrate was set aside on a technical basis the offence charges were of a lesser offence whereas a high magnitude offence was involved.
Therefore, there was no conviction due to which the limitation period of 15 years would apply.
Source: http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-Ne...ss-letter-as-15-year-time-bar-ends-next-month
