In July 2015, Abbasi was accused of issuing illegal contracts worth 220 billion between the period of 2013 and 2015 for the import and distribution of LNG without a proper bidding process, after which the National Accountability Bureau registered a case and began an investigation. He denied the corruption allegations. The case was closed in December 2016 after it was found that all rules were followed during procurement and the bidding process to award the contract was transparent. To minimise the shortage of gas, and to overcome the persistent power crises in the country, Abbasi's proposal to bring the LNG to Pakistan as source of power generation was lauded and praised. According to BBC Urdu, Abbasi had not become a part of any major political or financial controversy throughout his time in a ministerial office which is considered a high-profile cabinet slot. Therefore, Abbasi was chosen by Sharif as a temporary Prime Minister for 45 days, which would allow two months time for Shehbaz to contest elections from Nawaz's vacated constituency in Lahore, be elected to the National Assembly, and become eligible to be Prime Minister. BBC News noted that Abbasi was selected as the Prime Minister for two reasons. The first for being the least controversial among the PML-N leaders, and the second for having links with the Military of Pakistan.