LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Monday granted bail to Zafar Iqbal Gondal, former chairman of the Employees Old-Age Benefits Institution (EOBI), in six cases of fraud and misuse of powers.

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had lodged cases against Gondal accusing him of violating EOBI’s investment rules in purchase of land in Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi at inflated prices, during the previous rule of the PPP.

The agency alleged that Gondal caused a loss of Rs42 billion to the national exchequer by investing huge amounts in private sector projects without approval of the Board of Trustees.

Petitioner’s counsel Azam Nazir Tarar argued the allegations against his client were fabricated and politically motivated. He said his client had surrendered to the court and joined the agency’s investigation.

The counsel said the investigation had been completed and challan submitted to the trial court. Further custody of the petitioner was not required for the agency, he added.

He told the court that other co-suspects of the case were already released on bail.

Announcing a reserved verdict on the bail petitions of Gondal, the court directed the petitioner to furnish two bail bonds of Rs1 million each in all cases. The petitioner was in jail since September 2014.

Published in Dawn, April 28th, 2015

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