LAHORE: An accountability court has extended for two days the physical remand of the prime accused in the Rs16 billion DHA City (Lahore) land scam.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) produced the accused, Hammad Arshad, before the court on Saturday upon completion of his one-day remand. The accused was the CEO of Globaco (pvt) Ltd and involved in corruption and cheating the public at large. The bureau’s investigating officer told the court that further remand of the accused was required to complete the investigation. The court allowed the request and extended physical remand of the accused for two days.

According to the NAB, the company had secured a contract from the DHA-EME in 2009 to acquire 25,000 kanals for the establishment of DHA City. However, the company was unable to acquire the agreed land but it issued allotment letters nevertheless and collected around Rs15.47 billion from the public.

Hammad Arshad is accused of transferring the amount to his personal accounts and using the money for other businesses.

The bureau alleged that Elysium Holdings Pakistan Limited of Kamran Kayani, brother of former army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, and some other companies were also involved in the scam.

Last year, the NAB had issued a notice to Kamran Kayani in connection with an investigation into alleged illegal sale of allotment letters of the DHA Islamabad.

The NAB has been investigating the matter for the last few months. “We are also looking into the role of other beneficiaries in the case and will lay hand on them once the investigation is complete,” an official told Dawn.

The official said a reference in this case would be filed against the accused within three months.

Published in Dawn, January 10th, 2016