LAHORE: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) arrested three people on Thursday in a Rs5 billion housing scam in the city.

According to NAB, fraud was committed in the name of fake Model Housing Enclave on Ferozpur Road.

NAB arrested its chief executive officer (CEO) Farhan Cheema and directors Muhammad Qasim and Faryad Ali for cheating public at large in the fake scheme.

“The suspects without purchasing sufficient land and seeking approval from the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) launched a campaign by offering discount voucher amounting to Rs350,000 to the public,” a NAB official said. Earlier, he said, the suspects had sold numerous vouchers in the name of Model Trade Centre, whereas no such land existed under that name.

Housing society offered plots without LDA’s approval

The official said the housing society had yet to be approved by the LDA and the owners were not entitled to sell any land to the general public. “During the course of inquiry, it transpired that being CEO of the society, the suspect sold discount vouchers/plots fraudulently by violating the determined rules and laws of the land, merely, with the intention to attract maximum public,” he said.

Suspects illegally erected containers at the site for the purpose of sale of plots, files and discount vouchers. He said the they had been collecting funds since 2016 despite a NAB advertisement in newspapers.

Another official told Dawn that during interrogation of the suspects the volume of plundered amount exceeded more than Rs5bn and there were over 5,000 affected persons.

Published in Dawn, October 20th, 2017