Islamabad property: EOBI strikes a dubious deal with private party
The Employees Oldage Benefit Institution (EOBI) has struck a dubious deal for the purchase of property in Islamabad at the exorbitant price of Rs1.02 billion – almost 100% more than its market price.
Sources told the Express Investigation Cell (EIC) that the EOBI struck the deal for the Crown Plaza in F-7 Markaz with one Abdul Qayyum.
The Crown Plaza deal speaks volumes for wrongdoings within the EOBI, an organisation meant to manage workers’ fund, which has earned a reputation of making questionable deals with private parties.
The entire process of the deal was done without lawful authority, as it was not presented to the Board of Trustees (BoT) for approval. According to rules, it is mandatory for the EOBI to seek approval from the board for any deals involving billions of rupees of workers’ fund. However, the institution’s management avoids facing the BoT in most property deals for which it thinks the outcome could be adverse.
Furthermore, signatories of the deal happen to be unauthorised employees of the EOBI – Syed Iqbal Haider Zaidi could be quoted for a ready reference. Zaidi is neither an investment committee member nor a competent authority for inking such agreements.
Secondly, all three witness signatories in the deal are EOBI employees, raising serious legal questions, such as why no one witnessed the deal agreement from the seller’s side.
Oddly enough, the size of the plot has been excluded from the deal agreement so that no one could raise questions over its total size.
Independent analysts say the value of the Crown Plaza stands between Rs550 million to Rs 600 million. A loss of Rs600 million will be caused to the national exchequer with this single purchase.
When contacted, EOBI chairman Zafar Iqbal Gondal refused to comment on the Crown Plaza deal, saying simply, “I do not want to comment on the issue as the media is intentionally misleading everyone on EOBI investment issues.”
Gondal also refused to respond to different key questions raised by the EIC, such as why the EOBI failed to seek the approval of BoT before sealing the Crown Plaza deal with a private party; and who evaluated the property of the Crown Plaza to set its price at Rs1.02 billion.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 28th, 2012.
COMMENTS (6)
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Privatize EOBI and fire all the "permanent" and corrupt staff. Let it be run as a private or publicly listed financial institution.
During my dealings with EOBI, many years ago, all I got was requests from them to somehow "accommodate" the field officers, who were front men for the senior EOBI staff. This deal is no different, except the scale is much larger leaving EOBI fund in the hole for buying something at twice the market price. No doubt some senior executives including concerned minister and the top man in Pakistan are "in" on the deal.
There are unconfirmed news that the properties sold by CDA etc. through auction are in fact rigged, with the prices and kick backs determined before the auction, Like FF said there is no other way than to come out in the street. Not for change of government but for the sake of the country. If the EOBI news is correct it will put the pensions at risk. For property deals atleast we need to have an independent and fool proof system of valuations. Who to turn to? No one left except the judiciary?
Why are you all in Pakistan letting them get away with this??? Get out on the streets now and protest if this is true.
*corruption, corruption ... corruption :-( *