A major development has come to light in the Kohistan corruption scandal, where 10 accused involved in the scandal have surrendered before the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
According to the Deputy Prosecutor General NAB, the surrendering accused have come forward as benamidars(Unknown) and have agreed to return assets worth over Rs 237.7 million. Officials said that the accused had already been issued formal notices by NAB, after which they offered to return the assets voluntarily.
The accused who surrendered before NAB include Shoaib-ur-Rehman, Sadiq Zaman, Ijaz Ahmed, Shabnam Asim, Syed Ali Khan, Zubia Ijaz, Mehwish Bibi, Hashim Khan, Asghar Iqbal and Fasih-ur-Rehman.
A few days earlier, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has distributed a total of Rs 341 million among the victims of the Bankers City Housing Scheme. This amount was distributed among 476 victims who were cheated in the scheme, while the remaining 2,200 victims will also be provided with money after a thorough investigation.
According to NAB, the distribution ceremony was attended by the bureau’s chairman, retired Lieutenant General Nazir Ahmed, and presided over the ceremony. It was informed at the ceremony that Rs 120 million was given to 316 applicants through payment orders and Rs 221 million to 160 applicants through online transactions.
According to a statement issued by NAB, this move is a major milestone in its mission to provide justice to those affected by long-running financial schemes. The Bankers City scandal first came to light in 2006, after which an investigation was initiated in 2007 based on public complaints. The housing society was registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) in 2003 and claimed to have 14,000 kanals of land in Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Haripur.
However, the investigation revealed that the administration collected money from citizens through misleading advertisements and unauthenticated documents, while the land was neither approved by the concerned authorities nor allotted. The promised plots were never provided.
As a result of rigorous and sustained legal action, NAB successfully recovered a total of Rs 12.09 crore from the culprits. Actions are underway to recover more money. A press release issued by NAB said “NAB has returned two and a half times the original investment to the victims, which is an extraordinary achievement.”
The NAB Chairman said that this success was due to the coordinated efforts of the Rawalpindi team and the Legal Prosecution Department. He expressed satisfaction over the victims’ restoration of trust in the institutions and urged the public to check the legality of any housing scheme before investing in it.
The victims appreciated NAB’s efforts during the distribution. A widowed victim said that this move restored her trust in the institutions. A Chinese national, who was a victim investor in the scheme, praised NAB’s transparent proceedings and the professionalism of the investigation team.
NAB Director General (Islamabad/Rawalpindi) Waqar Ahmed Chohan said that the team faced several complications in searching for hidden properties and frozen accounts. He assured that new legitimate claims will also be accepted after verification and NAB will make every effort to ensure that the hard-earned money of the people reaches the last victim of the scheme.
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