- Lahore DG says he will oversee disbursement of recovered money to affecttees on a fast-track basis
LAHORE: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Lahore on Wednesday claimed to have recovered assets worth Rs440m in connection with ‘Model Housing Scheme’ scandal during an operation conducted under the supervision of Accountability Courts, Pakistan Today reliably learnt.
According to sources and credible information, the Accountability Courts received an objection petition seeking cancellation of a warrant Dakhal issued on July 3, 2023. The petitioners – Sheik Nadeem Anwar and Farooq Saeed Khan, submitted that they had purchased a land measuring 127 kanal and 14-marla from Farhan Cheema through NAB. The sale deed of the property had been executed, and possession transferred accordingly. In a separate transaction, Salman Naeem had acquired a 15-kanal piece of land from Farhan Cheema in 2019.
However, it came to light that Salman Naeem had previously filed a Civil Suit on March 16, 2020, which is still under adjudication. Additionally, Salman Naeem and others had attempted to illegally take possession of the property, leading to a civil suit filed on April 13, 2021. Furthermore, Salman Naeem and others had submitted an application for demarcation of the property, which is lying pending with the Assistant Commissioner (AC) Model Town, Lahore.
Another affected party, Zulfigar Majid, had approached the court seeking recovery of his claim from Farhan Cheema through NAB. Farhan Cheema appeared in court after receiving notices and claimed ownership of a 22-Kanal land in Mouza Jhulkay. He also stated that he had a buyer willing to pay Rs350 million for the property, and if given permission, he would produce the buyer before the court. Following this, the buyer appeared in court and provided a recorded statement, which led the court to order demarcation and issue a warrant of possession with the assistance of the AC Model Town and the local police.
During the proceedings, Dr Farooq Saeed and Sheikh Nadeem Anwar, the objectors mentioned earlier, expressed their interest in purchasing the property for Rs440 million, which was a significantly higher offer than the previous one. The previous buyer, along with the accused Farhan Cheema, presented their case, offering to deposit Rs350 million within four months. However, the objectors’ offer involved depositing the entire amount of Rs440 million within seven days, with an advance payment of Rs50 million through a Pay Order made out to the NAB Chairman.
After carefully considering all arguments from the parties involved and taking into account interest of the affected individuals, the accountability court approved the request made by the objectors. They were directed to deposit the Pay Order of Rs50 million on the same day, while the remaining amount was to be deposited within seven working days.
The court also clarified that if any other potential buyer came forward with a higher offer than Rs440 million, willing to pay the full amount in lump sum Pay Orders, the sale to Dr Farooq Saeed and Sheikh Nadeem Anwar would be automatically canceled. In such a scenario, the objectors would be entitled to receive their deposit amount, and NAB Lahore was instructed to facilitate return of the said amount.
A spokesperson for the NAB informed that NAB Lahore had filed a corruption reference against an accused namely Farhan Cheema (owner of Model Housing Enclave and Projects) in a case of cheating on public at large and freezed his 22 kanal land in Mouza Jhulkay present in accused name. However, during the course of Inquiry/ Investigation, around 275 affectees submitted their claims for recovery of looted money from accused Farhan Cheema & others. The NAB Lahore after concluding the Investigation against said accused filed a corruption Reference in Accountability Courts, Lahore during 2019 nominating Farhan Cheema as the prime accused of the case.
For recovery of plundered money from the accused person, the AC Lahore has permitted to sell the freezed property for Rs440 million so the same may be disbursed among 275 affectees of the case.
Speaking about the recovery, NAB Lahore Director General (DG) Amjad Majeed Aulakh has stated that NAB-L would continue to materialize the vision of NAB Chairman Lt-Gen (r) Nazir Ahmed to facilitate the general public on priority basis.
He also appreciated performance of the Investigation and Prosecution teams whose efforts resulted in recovery of the assets. The DG NAB-L envisioned disbursement of recovered money on a fast-track basis under his supervision.
He also referred to the distribution of billions of rupees among 11880 affectees of Eden Scam, the amount to the tune of Rs16 billion continued to recover through mega Plea Bargain (PB) for which disbursement of first installment is underway, that reflects NAB’s public friendly vision. DG NAB also stated that the Regional Bureau of Lahore has made possible recoveries of billions in the Housing Sector to discourage corruption and cheating in the Real Estate Sector.
