PESHAWAR: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, on Wednesday arrested three persons including a former director general of Provincial Housing Authority (PHA) and a former land acquisition collector allegedly involved in embezzlement of more than Rs400 million while acquiring land for a project not approved by the government.

According to a press release issued here, the arrested persons include a former DG of PHA, Javed Ahmad, a former land acquisition collector, Naveed Qadir, and their alleged front man Mohammad Asif.

It said that the suspects managed to pocket more than Rs400 million on the pretext of land acquisition for PHA Housing Scheme at Moza Darwaza Nathiagali 2012.

Interestingly, payment for the land was not even approved by the competent authority but PHA initiated the scheme without obtaining no objection certificate from the forest department and Galyat Development Authority and without preparing a feasibility report.

The press release alleged that an amount to the tune of Rs400 million was paid to a planted person identified as Mohammad Asif instead of original landowners with the intension to embezzle the public money.

The NAB has claimed that during initial interrogation the arrested persons divulged the names of many other highly influential persons in the province for which a high level interrogation committee has been constituted.