Land purchase scandal: FIA and EOBI reject NESPAK’s valuation

Social insurance provider has also decided to put properties on auction .

LAHORE:

Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and Employees’ Old-Age Benefits Institution (EOBI) have jointly rejected the valuation by National Engineering Services Pakistan Limited (Nespak) of the properties in a multi billion rupee scandal, official documents available with The Express Tribune have revealed. It may be noted that it was the EOBI that had engaged Nespak to evaluate the properties. However, the EOBI, in its Board of Trustees meeting, rejected the valuation. The FIA also has disputed the estimations of Nespak.

According to the documents, the EOBI had also initiated the process for appointment of another independent valuator. However, the first such process could not be completed due to lack of sufficient participation.



Keeping in view the above constraints and the fact that the EOBI did not have an in-house expertise for valuation of real estate, the EOBI board decided that the 18 properties – that are subject of the suo motu proceedings by the Supreme Court – would be put to open auction 18 packages individually with a reserved price equal to the purchase price of the EOBI with up-to-date markup, transaction costs and amount spent on additional works, where applicable, all added.

It was decided that the properties which would fetch a price exceeding the reserved price would be placed before the board for final decision; while the properties which would fetch a price equal to or less than the reserved price would be returned to the original seller in consideration of amount equal to reserved price.

The board asked the EOBI chairman to request the Supreme Court on the next date of hearing to allow reasonable time to implement the decisions of the Board of Trustees.



On the other hand, the FIA has started to trace the front-men of the EOBI former chairman Zafar Gondal, the principal accused, and other influential accused allegedly involved in Rs34 billion dubious land purchase scandal after obtaining their phone data.

“The Call Detail Record (CDR) of a number of influential accused persons have been received which is under scrutiny with Forensic Expert of the Punjab FIA,” said one of the FIA’s investigation officers.

The FIA initially obtained the phone record of three main accused, the former chairman Zafar Gondal; director-general investment Wahid Khursheed Kanwar; and investment committee convener, Iqbal Dawood Pakwala.

“The purpose of this was also to trace the plundered money trail,” a member of the FIA investigation team said while talking to The Express Tribune, adding that he FIA was analysing the record with the focus on abnormal callers.

The federal agency has also sought the details of assets and bank accounts of the accused persons as well as suspected front-men from the banks and concerned government departments.  It is pertinent to mention here that most of the accused are at large.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 25^th, 2013.