Luxury car, Rs14.5m in cash ‘belonging to Cheema’ seized

Published May 29, 2018
LAHORE: Stacks of currency notes that were seized in a NAB raid on the car showroom on Monday.—Dawn
LAHORE: Stacks of currency notes that were seized in a NAB raid on the car showroom on Monday.—Dawn

LAHORE: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Lahore, raided a car showroom on Jail Road here on Monday and seized a luxury car and Rs14.5 million in cash allegedly belonging to former Lahore Development Authority director general Ahad Khan Cheema.

According to an official source, a NAB team in connection with the Rs14bn Ashiyana-i-Iqbal housing scam raided the showroom and seized a Prado worth Rs11m and Rs14.5m in cash which Ahad Cheema had allegedly hidden there.

Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s ‘blue-eyed officer’ Cheema remained in NAB’s custody for three months for allegedly misusing his authority and getting approved a fraudulent and illegal request by awarding contract of the Ashiyana-i-Iqbal project. He has been sent to jail on judicial remand.

During investigation so far NAB has unearthed over 90 kanal land worth millions of rupees which it said Cheema acquired through illegal means. Similarly, NAB is also probing into the assets of his family members.

“He also has shares of Rs400m in a society in Lahore,” the official said.

NAB had launched investigation into the scam in November last year after receiving a number of complaints regarding an ‘illegal deal’ involving 3,000 kanals between the Punjab Land Development Company — a company owned by the government — and private companies.

The bureau has also re-summoned prime minister’s secretary Fawad Hassan Fawad for Friday in this scam.

Published in Dawn, May 29th, 2018

Opinion

Editorial

Smog hazard
Updated 05 Nov, 2024

Smog hazard

The catastrophe unfolding in Lahore is a product of authorities’ repeated failure to recognise environmental impact of rapid urbanisation.
Monetary policy
05 Nov, 2024

Monetary policy

IN an aggressive move, the State Bank on Monday reduced its key policy rate by a hefty 250bps to 15pc. This is the...
Cultural power
05 Nov, 2024

Cultural power

AS vital modes of communication, art and culture have the power to overcome social and international barriers....
Disregarding CCI
Updated 04 Nov, 2024

Disregarding CCI

The failure to regularly convene CCI meetings means that the process of democratic decision-making is falling apart.
Defeating TB
04 Nov, 2024

Defeating TB

CONSIDERING the fact that Pakistan has the fifth highest burden of tuberculosis in the world as per the World Health...
Ceasefire charade
Updated 04 Nov, 2024

Ceasefire charade

The US talks of peace, while simultaneously arming and funding their Israeli allies, are doomed to fail, and are little more than a charade.