Dr Asim case: No fraud detected in audit report of Ziauddin Hospital:

May 16, 2016
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From Our Correspondent
KARACHI: The prosecution witness in Dr. Asim case said that during audit they did not find any discrepancy or fraud in the accounts of the Ziauddin Hospital.

He also said they did not find any deviation in the income and expenses of the hospital; therefore they had issued the clean certificate of audit verifications. They had also issued letter of thanks to the concerned staff of the organization for their good cooperation.

During the hearing yesterday at the NAB Court IV, Raheel Shahnawaz, a prosecution witness from the auditors Partner M/s BDO Eabrahim (Pvt.) Company stated that the sources of fund of the organization and its expenditures are strictly checked and if there is any suspicious transaction discovered it is mentioned in the audit report.

In reply to a question from defense counsel, Raheel said he was deputed by his firm to audit the accounts of Ziauddin Hospital as a commercial organization not as a charitable trust. He said that he was also asked by the NAB Investigation Officer during his investigation whether it was a charitable trust or a commercial organization. He replied that Ziauddin Hospital was a commercial organization and it was not enjoying any special tax relief or incentives being as trust.

During cross examination by defense counsel, the witness replying to various questions stated that he was employed with the concerned audit firm since year 2010. He has submitted his audit reports for the years 2010 to 2014. His audit team and he had visited Ziauddin Hospital but never met Dr. Asim Hussain and never saw him there.
Replying to another question, the witness said that there are various audit standards being implemented world over, while definition of audit terms used in audit system are changed from time to time. Since he joined the said audit firm in 2010 therefore, he was not aware about the background history of the trust before this period. He repeatedly agreed with the defence counsel that the auditors did not find any irregularity against the organization. No fraud or concealment was observed or detected by them nor mentioned in their audit report.

The court adjourned the hearing for 21st May.

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