LAHORE, July 13: An accountability court on Saturday extended the remand of defunct Milli Co-operative Multipurpose Society Ltd chairman Chaudhry Wali Muhammad till July 27 after the NAB disclosed that investigation against the accused was in progress.

While pleading the court to extend the physical remand of the accused, the NAB submitted that it needed to recover certain record of the Society upon the disclosure of the accused.

The court while allowing the application directed the NAB to complete the investigation by the next hearing.

Mr Wali had been arrested by the NAB on charges of squandering the depositors’ money and committing financial irregularities in the affairs of the company. As alleged by the NAB, Mr Wali connived with different politicians in buying and selling of disputed properties at inflated prices and pumped co-operative money into wasteful expenditure. The accused was further charged with having failed to exercise his authority as co-operative chairman in keeping a check on the embezzlement of funds, violation of bylaws, co-operative laws and other government regularities. The NAB accused him of advancing loans to his cronies without collateral.

The preliminary investigation suggested that at the time of the co-operative’s dissolution in 1991, it owed Rs52.16 million to more than 500 depositors.

According to the NAB, the affectees included pensioners, widows and people from middle class who were still clamouring for the return of their money despite the lapse of 10 years. The co-operative was established on July 25, 1952. —Our Reporter