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Ahad Cheema corruption case: NAB recovers Rs14.5 million in cash, expensive car from showroom

By Numan Wahab
May 29, 2018

LAHORE: It seems that former director general of Lahore Development Authority (LDA) Ahad Khan Cheema’s laptop is going to expose all his financial secrets, as on Monday the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) recovered Rs14.5 million in cash stashed by him in a car showroom of Jail Road here.

The sources in the Bureau revealed that important information was deleted by the bureaucrat from his mobile phone and laptop. However, the recovery of deleted emails and tip-offs given by other sources led the anti-corruption watchdog to the stashed money. The investigation team obtained evidence of secret communication of financial matters between Cheema and the owner of car showroom after which it was decided to conduct a raid, sources added. Moreover, the Bureau also seized a Land Cruiser worth 11 million, owned by Ahad Cheema from the showroom.

Sources said a letter, copy of which is available with The News, has been written to Land Record administration of tehsil Cantt, district Lahore, to obtain information about the properties of Ahad Cheema and his brothers Ahmad Hassan, Faisal Hassan, his sister Saadia Mansoor and his brother-in-law Mansoor Ahmad and others including Ahmad Saud and Nazia Ashraf. It has been further learnt that Mansoor Ahmad, fearing arrest by NAB due to his alleged involvement in the alleged corruption of Ahad Cheema, has filed for a protective bail in a local court.

The Bureau had arrested Cheema over charges of embezzlement in Ashiana Housing Scheme, misuse of his authority and illegal award of Ashiana-e-lqbal project contract worth Rs14 billion to Lahore CASA Developers, which was ineligible The NAB inquiry has revealed that Bismillah Engineering Services Co (a major shareholder of JV titled Lahore CASA Developers) was a proxy firm working on behalf of the Paragon City (Pvt) Ltd. Cheema allegedly received illegal gratification in the form of 32-kanal land worth Rs30.09 million from the owners of Paragon City (Pvt) Ltd.