Eden housing scam: NAB recovers Rs1b worth of pay orders

Total claims worth Rs13b were submitted by 11,888 victims

LAHORE:

National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has recovered pay orders worth Rs1 billion from the management of the Eden Housing Society allegedly involved in real estate fraud with thousands of people.

Reportedly, Lahore NAB had started an inquiry against the management of Eden Housing Society in January 2019 following hundreds of complaints of cheating, fraud and deception to the public against the management of the society.

However, the number of complaints later increased and when thousands of complaints were received from the victims, the scandal was brought under investigation by the NAB and a total claims worth Rs13 billion were submitted by 11,888 victims during the course of ongoing investigation.

A spokesperson for the NAB informed that as per the directions of NAB Chairperson Javed Iqbal, the ongoing probe into the Eden Housing scandal by NAB was expedited to a logical conclusion.

Read NAB recovers Rs1b in Eden housing scam

“In October 2019, the claims of 11,888 victims were made part of the reference. A reference worth Rs25 billion as per the total latest market value of the properties was filed in a Lahore accountability court. In the reference, Dr Amjad and his wife Anjum Amjad along with Murtaza Amjad and Mustafa Amjad were nominated as prime accused and according to the reference details,” the spokesperson stated.

“Projects like Edenabad, Eden Residencia, Eden Gardens, Eden Gardens (extension) and Eden Villas were introduced by Eden administration between 2008 and 2015 located in Lahore and Faisalabad. Huge investments were collected in instalments by tricking the public into booking plots and houses in the name of the said projects,” he added.

The spokesperson further said that despite the passage of a long time, the administration did not provide plots to the victims, nor did they return their houses and their investments.

“Similarly, funds were illegally collected from the victims by the Eden administration even though the land for the projects was not available with them.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 23^rd, 2021.