NAB awaits reply on plea to put housing scheme owners on ECL

LAHORE: The National Accountability Bureau Lahore chapter is still awaiting response from the interior ministry regarding putting the names of the owners of Eden Housing Projects on Exit Control List (ECL) despite passing two months, The News has learnt.

The owners of Eden housing projects, including Dr Amjad, Anum Amjad, Murtaza Amjad and Mustafa Amjad are facing criminal proceedings initiated against them by the National Accountability Bureau on the charges of depriving thousands of people of their hard earned money worth billions of rupees.

The aforesaid information was shared by National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Director General, Lahore Shahzad Saleem through a press note issued on Thursday. Shahzad Saleem said the NAB has initiated blanket criminal proceedings against Eden administration accused of depriving thousands of people of their hard earned money worth billions of rupees.

He said that full-fledged criminal proceedings against Eden administration have been initiated followed by publishing of advertisements in newspapers and freezing of all properties and bank accounts owned by the Eden administration. Whereas, as a fresh initiative, NAB Lahore has directed Excise Department, Lahore of non-transferring and sale of all vehicles registered in the name of Eden Housing Administration.

Shahzad Saleem revealed that in February 2018, as a preemptive measure to restrain the owners of Eden Housing Projects from fleeing abroad, NAB had written to interior ministry for putting their names into Exit Control List (ECL) on which the response is still awaited.

NAB has black listed Dr Amjad’s passport, whereby, attempts are underway to do the same with co-owners, he added. Shahzad Saleem kept on saying that the NAB Lahore has been direly working to form a committee comprising officials from Lahore Development Authority (LDA), Eden administration (Present) representative, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) officials, Eden affectees representative and NAB Lahore’s Investigation Officials.

The team would work out for a sustainable resolve for the Eden affectees. He said he is personally monitoring all the proceedings of the case and for the convenience of the Eden affectees to lodge complaints against Eden Housing Projects, NAB Lahore has uploaded complaint form on NAB’s website www.nab.gov.pk.