ISLAMABAD, July 24: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Thursday advised people to verify the status of private housing schemes before making investments.

“Beware of the fraudulent and fake societies and must consult with the NAB or relevant authorities before investment to avoid embarrassment,” said Director General National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Rawalpindi Rear Admiral Zakaullah.

He was speaking at a cheque distribution ceremony to 461 affected people of Mega Securities scam and 13 Nizami Town scam at NAB regional headquarters, Rawalpindi.

He said that the NAB was the voice of downtrodden people and it helped facilitate the poor segments of the society.

It has been observed that the managements of majority of housing schemes launched in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad are either cheating people or delaying in their completion causing huge monetary loss to the innocent people.

According to the NAB, Mega Securities (Pvt) Ltd caused a loss of Rs72.77 million to its 461 investors by disposing of their share without knowledge. An amount of Rs7.64 million was distributed among the victims.

In Nizami Town case, the management of Akhbar Farosh Welfare Trust Rawalpindi announced a housing scheme in 1993 and collected millions of rupees for the allotment of 400 kanals.

But the society could arrange only 44 kanals of land which was transferred to a few members of the society.