Rs18bn Fazaia Housing Scheme land scam: SHC directs NAB to settle refunds or file reference

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Thursday directed the National Accountability Bureau to either make their own arrangements under the NAB Ordinance to settle the payment issue with directors of Fazaia Housing Scheme or proceed to file a reference whereupon the directors, if so desire, may approach chairman NAB for plea bargain.

The direction came in the SHC order on the petition of Musarat Nazir against the arrest of Fazaia Housing Scheme directors by the NAB on Thursday. The counsel of the petitioner and the special prosecutor NAB had earlier informed the court that parties were trying to reach a settlement so that those allotted the accommodations may be refunded their payments. The court had directed the chairman NAB and director general NAB Sindh to ensure that needful was done prior to the next date of hearing.

Special prosecutor NAB Sohail Ahmed sought an adjournment, submitting that he was assigned the case recently and he has no information of the case. The SHC’s division bench, headed by Justice Mohammad Karim Khan Agha, directed the previous special prosecutor Abdul Sattar to appear and inform the court about the current position of the case.

Regarding the settlement of payments and their dues to those affected, the court observed that NAB shall either make their own arrangements under the NAB Ordinance with the petitioners or proceed to file a reference in accordance with the law whereupon the petitioner may, if so desire, approach chairman NAB for plea bargain. The court observed that if no satisfactory arrangement is reached, then the court will hear the case for interpretation of its "no coercive action order" in favour of the petitioners on the next date of hearing. The court observed that it is expected that this matter is resolved to the satisfaction of all parties, in particular those who were allotted houses in the scheme in accordance with the law within three weeks.

The NAB in its comments said their inquiry has revealed that Fazaia Housing Scheme was illegally launched by the Pakistan Air Force in partnership with Maxim properties in 2015 on illegally consolidated, adjusted land in Malir. The NAB prosecutor submitted that as per agreement with PAF, the construction company sold out various units of the scheme to general public and collected billions of rupees in the name of booking, allotment and development of housing units, but since 2015, the management of FHS neither handed over the plots to those allotted nor did any significant development work, as a result the public stands cheated of their finances. He submitted that construction company directors Tanveer Ahmed and his son Bilal Tanveer were also signatory to agreement with PAF officials regarding launching of FHS and selling its units to general public alleging that petitioners in connivance with other co-accused collected Rs18 billion from 6,000 affectees in the fraudulent scheme.

In a related development, the victims of FHS had also filed civil and constitutional litigation against the builders of the scheme for recovery of their deposited money and sought constitution of a judicial commission to initiate inquiry into the affairs of the FHS, its forensic audit. They submitted they were not being given possession of the land despite payment of installments worth millions of rupees.

Meanwhile, expressing displeasure over the delay, an accountability court on Thursday sought the National Accountability Bureau reference in the Rs18 billion Fazaia Housing Scheme land fraud case. The administrative judge of the accountability courts, Dr Sher Bano Karim, remarked that despite passage of 120 days, the NAB is yet to present the reference in the court and was making excuses due to which the case was prolonging. The investigation officer, Aslam Abro, told the court that the anti-graft watchdog and the suspects were in negotiation over returning the amount to the victims of the scam and that is why the reference was not being filed. The judge observed that the reference should be filed in the court even if there was a settlement agreement underway and the fate of the case will be decided after the compromise agreement formally lands in the court. The hearing was adjourned till May 24.

Two suspects, Tanvir Ahmed and Bilal Tanvir, who are top managers of the Maxim Properties, are in custody for cheating the public in the name of the Fazaia Housing Scheme launched as a joint venture with the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) in 2015. According to the prosecution, the suspects kept the location of the project hidden to dodge the general public in the name of the PAF with intention of minting money. It added that they defrauded people for around Rs18 billion in the name of apartments, bungalows, surcharges and processing fees. It said that the suspects, in connivance with their accomplices, also tricked the PAF to accept a land falling in the K-IV project for its housing scheme. It added that this land was exchanged with another government land, which was required to be inspected as both the builders had yet to disclose its location.

Due to their allegedly deceitful scheme, the suspects altered the layout plans six times and finally decided to build 8,043 units in which the PAF owns 4,042 units and the Maxim Properties had the right to 4,041 units. A progress report by the NAB read that the PAF, out of its quota, had sold only 1,542 units to its employees. During the scrutiny of the record, it was found that contrary to the proportion agreed upon, the suspects sold around than 5,750 units, 1,700 units more than their fixed quota.