Another nabbed in land scam

Furniture Pakistan Chief Executive Faisal Shamim arrested

LAHORE: National Accountability Bureau Lahore has made another arrest in Industrial Development Corporation scam. NAB on Thursday arrested Furniture Pakistan Chief Executive Faisal Shamim.

The accused was a member of the monitoring committee. He had misused his authority as a member of the monitoring committee and caused a loss of 70 million rupees, claimed the bureau. NAB added that he, in connivance with PIDC, caused a loss of over 132 million rupees to the national exchequer. An accountability court handed him over on physical remand to NAB till January 11.

On Wednesday NAB arrested accused Ahmed Bilal Cheema. As far as details of the case were concerned, NAB Lahore had been investigating financial embezzlement worth Rs 103.25 Million in PIDC during the process of land purchase in Sargodha by National Industrial Parks Devemopment (NIPD), a subordinate organisation of PIDC.

NAB arrested former PIDC CEO Khalid Mehmood Chadda and accomplice Muhammad Zubair after obtaining substantial evidence of embezzlement.

They were accused of causing a loss of Rs 103.25 million to the exchequer through the illegal procurement of land, measuring 800 kanals, in Sargodha for NIPD at exorbitant rates.

Chief accused Khalid Mahmood Chadda, being chairman of the monitoring, audit and finance committees, purchased the land by illegally signing the bids at exorbitant rates.

Accused Ahmed Bilal Cheema illegitimately got Rs2 million transferred into his accounts, claimed the bureau, from the account of suspect Muhammad Zubair.

NAB were investigating the matter further and conducting raids to arrest other suspects.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 5^th, 2018.