KARACHI: The administrative judge of the accountability courts on Friday remanded a man in judicial custody in a case pertaining to alleged corruption of Rs11.733 billion through illegal allotment of land belonging to the Karachi Port Trust Officers Cooperative Housing Society.

The man, Mohammad Ismail, was arrested by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Thursday in connection with the alleged scam.

The investigating officer produced him before the administrative judge and submitted that the suspect got allotted a plot (FL-01/3) in connivance with the accused persons without participating in competitive bidding and auction.

The IO mentioned that the trial court had on May 25 issued non-bailable warrants for his arrest. Therefore, the court was requested to grant physical remand of the suspect.

Remanding the suspect in judicial custody till June 28, the administrative judge ordered that he may be produced on the next date.

The federal anti-graft watchdog filed a reference against the office-bearers of the KPT Officers Cooperative Housing Society and private persons alleging that they were involved in illegal allotment of 16 plots of the society located on Mai Kolachi Road in Karachi.

In the reference, the society’s chairman, Ahmed Pervez Younusi, secretary Gulab Khan and 21 others were named as accused.

It alleged that the land was illegally allotted in connivance with the society’s management, causing losses of Rs11.733bn to the national exchequer.

Published in Dawn, June 23rd, 2018