ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has initiated payments to approximately 17,500 victims of the Rs 7.3 billion B4U online Ponzi scheme scam.

In the first phase, Rs3.7 billion will be distributed among the victims, with 10,000 receiving their full amount and 7,500 getting 40pc. The remaining payments are expected to be made within six months after the disposal of the accused’s properties

According to the NAB, it was distributing the looted amount to 17500 affected persons, the highest number of victims ever in a single scam.

B4U is said to be an online trading company run by a group of people who claim to have large experience of trading, investment tricks and market.

They claimed that by using their expertise they trade our investment in the market and earn profit and distribute profit on daily basis.

Initially, Rs3.7 billion will be distributed among the victims

Their major investment domains are: property deals, crypto exchange, information technologies, transport services and trading.

For distribution of cheques among the scam’s victims, a special ceremony was organised by National Accountability Bureau (Rawalpindi/Islamabad) at NAB headquarters.

The ceremony was presided over by NABChairman retired Lt-Gen Nazir Ahmed and attended by Prosecutor General Accountability Syed Ihtesham Qadir Shah, director generals, senior NAB officers and a large number of general public/scam victims.

“The B4U fraud is one of Pakistan’s largest financial scams, operated as an online Ponzi scheme through shell companies by Saifur Rehman and his associates. Billions of rupees were collected from the public by promising a 7 per cent monthly return,” the meeting was informed.

NAB initiated an inquiry into the matter on Feb 5, 2021, after receiving hundreds of complaints from victims and the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP).

During the investigation, NAB traced and froze 56 bank accounts, properties, and other assets belonging to the accused persons, while online data was downloaded and used to verify victims’ claims.

As a result of NAB’s persistent efforts and legal action, a recovery process for Rs 7.3 billion was initiated. At the initial phase, Rs3.7 billion is being distributed among 17500 affected persons with 10,000 victims getting their whole amount and remaining 7,500 will get 40pc of their amount now while remaining 60pc will be paid within six months after disposing of the properties of the accused.

Addressing the ceremony, the NAB chairman said NAB’s priorities were included focus on the public at large cases and to recover 100 per cent looted amount from the accused persons and return the same to the victims in the shortest possible time.

He emphasised the public to take utmost care in investing their hard-earned money in various schemes and make thorough inquiry before investments.

The NAB chief appreciated the efforts and hard work of NAB (Rawalpindi/Islamabad) team who made recoveries and disbursement of recovered amounts possible in the face of various challenges in the B4U scam. The chairman also announced Ummrah package as incentive for the whole team of NAB Rawalpindi.

It was announced that in future victims will no longer need to visit NAB offices to claim their compensation. Funds will be directly transferred into their bank accounts. “This milestone reflects NAB’s commitment to protecting public interests, recovering looted funds, and restoring public trust,” he added.

Earlier, DG NAB (Rawalpindi/Islamabad) Waqar Ahmed Chohan highlighted efforts of case officers concernedand briefed the audience on the difficulties they faced in the recovery of looted amount from the accused in B4U scam.

On the occasion, the beneficiaries expressed their deep satisfaction and gratitude on NAB’s efforts, stating that they had lost all hope of recovering their savings. They praised the relentless efforts of the NAB chairman and NAB officials, whose hard work made this recovery and distribution possible.

Published in Dawn, August 22th, 2025