Court orders auction of Eden housing properties in Rs19b scam

LAHORE: An accountability court on Friday issued orders for auctioning properties of owners of the Eden Housing project, Dr Amjad and Murtaza Amjad, son-in-law of former chief justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, and others.

Accountability Court Judge Sajjad Ahmad directed the authorities concerned to auction the properties and submit a report in the court.

NAB had filed a reference against former chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry’s son-in-law, Murtaza Amjad, and other owners of the Eden housing projects in Rs19 billion fraud case after the accountability watchdog and the Eden owners failed to reach a plea bargain.

The owners of Eden housing projects had fled the country to Canada, according to the sources. NAB had nominated Murtaza Amjad, Dr Amjad, Anjum Amjad, Murtaza Amjad and Mustafa Amjad in the reference.

The accused had allegedly received Rs19 billion from 11,800 affectees of the project and fled the country.

Later, the bureau seized the multibillion properties of the Eden group family.

According to the NAB investigation, the owners of Eden housing projects had at least 111 commercial plots in Eden housing projects in Lahore alone. The accused had eight commercial plots near Eden Canal Villas and Canal Bank Road. They also had two commercial plots of four kanals each near the airport. The NAB initial inquiry revealed that the accused had two commercial plots of 10 marlas each in Eden City near the airport.

NAB also found evidence of the properties, owned by the accused in Edenabad, Defence Road, that was entitled to Eden housing and its directors. They had 404 kanals of land entitled to them in the name of Capital Land Developers in Mauza Tamma, Chatha and Mohriyan.

They also had 333 kanals of land in the name of Golden Earth and AM Farm in Mauza Bhaghrian and Zila Dharma Chandar. NAB investigations have found 26 commercial plots in their name in a project named Eden Residentia.