Public fraud: NAB hands out Rs265m recovered from Double Shah, Mujahid Butt

Double Shah has agreed to return Rs5.43 billion to investors.

LAHORE:

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Punjab distributed Rs265.496 million among the people defrauded by Syed Sibtul Hassan Gilani (Double Shah) and Mujahid Aziz Butt on Thursday.

NAB Punjab Director General Khurshid Anwar Bhinder distributed the cheques at a ceremony. Talking to the media, Bhinder said the Double Shah scandal was the biggest such scam in which thousands of people were deprived of their money.

He said cheques for Rs260 million were distributed among 300 victims of Sibtul Hassan Gilani. He said this represented 30 per cent of their claims.

He said they had earlier been paid 20 per cent of the claims.

He said Gilani had been convicted by an accountability court and sentenced to 14 years rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs5.43 billion and confiscation of property. He said the money being distributed had been recovered from Gilani and his accomplices. He said a claim verification cell was working for monitoring and disbursements.

Bhinder said that in Mujahid Aziz Butt case, Rs5.496 million was handed over to the victims.

Butt, Kunwar Mujeeb Ahmad and Shehzad Rafique Butt, directors of M/s Hydro Petroleum (Pvt) Ltd, were accused of investment by promising 20 per cent per annum profits.

He said the accused collected Rs10.992 million. The Accountability Court No II, Lahore, convicted them all. Butt and Ahmed were sentenced to 14 years rigorous imprisonment each with a fine of Rs5,447,500.

Shehzad Rafiq Butt was awarded five-year rigorous imprisonment with a fine of Rs100,000.

The convicts have appealed the accountability court judgments before the Lahore High Court.

Butt and Ahmed had voluntarily agreed to pay their liability (Rs5,547,500). The offer was accepted by the NAB and approved by the Accountability Court No II.

On Thursday, Rs5,496,000 was distributed among five depositors. The amount was 50 per cent of their claims.

Ahmed has applied for a similar deal which is under consideration, Bhinder said.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 9^th, 2012.