The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA) to strengthen anti-corruption partnership.
This development followed an important meeting at NAB Headquarters on Tuesday, where Acting Chairman Sohail Nasser met with UK delegation led by Graeme Biggar CBE, Director-General of the NCA. Both discussed avenues of collaboration and reinforce mutual commitment against corruption.
The NCA delegation, comprising Biggar, included Graham Rer, Councillor / Regional Head; Owen Kennedy, Staff Officer to Director-General NCA; Paul Hamilton Tweedale, Liaison Officer NCA; and Mitchell Tipp, Liaison Officer NCA.
Senior officials from NAB, including Ghulam Safdar Shah, DG Operations; Muhammad Tahir, Director ICW; and Usman Karim Khan, were also present in the meeting.
The primary objective of the meeting was to enhance bilateral cooperation between both the agencies to finalize a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) regarding exchange of information and enhance capacity building.
In his remarks, Acting Chairman Sohail Nasser lauded the mutual response and cooperation extended by NCA in finalizing the MoU draft. He assured that NAB is committed to completing all necessary legal formalities at the earliest to undergo this important agreement.
The acting Chairman NAB emphasized the existing strong cooperation and synergy between NAB and the UK’s anti-corruption agencies, which is currently based on both formal and informal channels for information exchange. However, he stressed that the proposed MoU will be a significant milestone in further strengthening the mutual anti-corruption efforts between the two countries.
The MoU is expected to enhance timely cooperation between the law enforcement agencies of both nations, laying the foundation for swift recovery of stolen assets and addressing corruption cases in befitting manner. Both parties agreed on the critical need to increase informal exchanges of intelligence and information related to corruption, financial crimes, money laundering, and complex fraud, especially in the current global climate.
In line with NAB’s commitment to internal capacity building, Acting Chairman, Sohail Nasir introduced the NCA delegation to NAB’s newly established Pakistan Anti-Corruption Academy (PACA). The role of PACA and its efforts to enhance the skills of anti-corruption professionals were discussed. The NCA delegation expressed interest in ensuring the participation of NAB officers in upcoming training programs related to cryptocurrency, which is expected to play a significant role in combating financial crimes.
Both agencies also agreed to increase cooperation through exchange of experts and human resource development in the fields of forensic accounting, asset investigations, money laundering, and advanced prosecution techniques.
This meeting reflects the unwavering commitment of both NAB and the NCA to promote global cooperation in tackling financial crimes and corruption, with the shared goal of ensuring security and combating risks associated with financial misconduct on an international scale.