Two indicted in DHA City scam case

LAHORE: An accountability court Wednesday indicted two key suspects Hammad Arshad and Brig (retired) Khalid Nazir Butt in Rs 16 billion DHA City (Lahore) land acquisition scam.

The court directed the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to present its witnesses on next hearing as both suspects denied charges made against them in a corruption reference by the NAB and opted to contest trial.

The NAB alleged in its reference against the accused that Globaco (pvt) Ltd of Arshad had secured a contract from DHA-EME in 2009 to acquire 25,000 kanals of land for the establishment of DHA City. However, the company failed to acquire the agreed land and issued allotment letters and collected around Rs15.47 billion from public. The suspect allegedly transferred the amount to his personal accounts and used the same for other business.

The bureau also alleged the role of Elysium Holdings Pakistan Limited of Kamran Kayani, brother of former army chief Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, as well as other companies in the scam. The second indicted suspect, Butt, was the former project director of DHA City who allegedly misused his office and benefited Hammad Arshad illegally. The NAB said Butt signed a vague contract with the Globaco Company and allowed it to launch the project without acquisition of land and getting the master plan approved from the executive board of the DHA. The court would resume hearing on December 22.