NAB distributes cheques among victims of housing societies scam

ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Rawalpindi has recovered Rs1.5 billion from the managements of four housing projects in Rawalpindi and Islamabad- Ghauri Town, Arain City, Gulshan Rehman, and Jeddah Town.

A ceremony for the distribution of recovered amounts to the affected people of housing society scams was held at the NAB Headquarters in Islamabad on Monday and the ceremony was chaired by Deputy NAB Chairman Sohail Nasir.

Substantial cheques were distributed among victims of four housing projects in Rawalpindi and Islamabad- Ghauri Town, Arain City, Gulshan Rehman, and Jeddah Town.

NAB Deputy Chairman Sohail Nasir, Prosecutor General Accountability Syed Ehtisham Qadir Shah, Director General NAB Rawalpindi Mirza Muhammad Irfan Baig, and other officers distributed the cheques among the victims. According to NAB, the cheques Rs80 million distributed on Monday while remaining in coming days.

In his address on the occasion, NAB deputy chairman stated that NAB’s crackdown against those who loot public funds has been intensified, and it is encouraging that in a short period of one year, the NAB has recovered Rs1.5 billion from the managements of these four housing projects.

He said comprehensive measures are being taken to prevent corruption under the leadership of the NAB chairman, with the prompt return of public looted funds to the victims is the top priority. He further added that citizens should only invest in legally approved housing projects after thorough scrutiny and knowledge to protect themselves from fraud and deception.

He said that NAB’s public awareness campaign regarding safe investments in real estate is ongoing, however, it is the duty of citizens to take all possible precautions to avoid fraud.

DG NAB Rawalpindi Mirza Muhammad Irfan Baig, while outlining the performance of NAB Rawalpindi, stated that NAB Rawalpindi has so far recovered Rs38.059 billion in housing fraud cases. Out of this, he said Rs32.825 billion have been returned to the public or deposited into the national treasury.

DG NAB Rawalpindi further informed that since January 2023, Rs23.896 billion have been returned to 8,000 victims. On this occasion, NAB Deputy Chairman Sohail Nasir distributed shields among NAB officers who demonstrated excellent performance and paid tribute to the services of NAB investigation officers who played a crucial role in recovering the funds of the victims in these four housing projects through their day and night efforts.