EOBI ex-chief granted bail

LAHORE
THE Lahore High Court Justice Ali Baqar Najafi on Monday granted bail to Zafar Iqbal Gondal, former chairman of Employees Old-Age Benefits Institution (EOBI), in six cases of fraud.
Judge ordered to release the accused on furnishing bail bonds in the sum of Rs1 million with two sureties each.
The FIA had lodged a case against Gondal alleging that he had violated EOBI’s investment rules to buy lands in Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi at exorbitant prices, during the tenure of PPP government. It was alleged that Gondal as EOBI chairman had purchased 18 properties amounted up to Rs42 billion from different parties through doubtful agreements.
Six cases had been registered against Zafar Gondal in Islamabad police stations, seven in Lahore and two in Karachi. The FIA alleged that Gondal had allegedly caused a loss of Rs42 billion to the exchequer by investing huge amounts in private sector projects without approval from the Board of Trustees. The projects included a purchase of plots in DHA, purchase of a plaza in F-7 Markaz Islamabad, two 4300cc cars for the chairman, two plots in Sukkur, development of a cricket ground in Islamabad, purchase of plots from CDA, 40kanal lands in Lahore, purchase of four floors of a hotel in Lahore, construction of a 7-star hotel in Lahore, construction of M-9 Motorway and purchase of 20kanal land near Karachi airport on exorbitant prices.
Applicant counsel Safdar Hussain Tarrar pleaded that the cases were false, as he had not done the decision-making as sole authority.
He said no rules or regulations were violated as the applicant participated in decision-making as a member of Board of Trustees. He said the allegations were also false that Gondal had tampered any record as it was already in FIA custody and he had surrendered before the court.