The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has arrested another director of the Formanites Housing Society in Rs1.5 billion scam.
According to the NAB, Abdul Ghafoor Wattoo, a brother of co-accused Zahoor Ahmad Wattoo, has been arrested on the allegation of cheating public at large.
More than 1,100 affected persons had filed complaints with NAB, Lahore, against the accused. The Wattoo brothers also own a private news channel.
“The accused in connivance with each other had launched the Formanites Housing Scheme in 1997 and lured the general public to invest/purchase plots in it.
Illegalities committed by the accused were massive in number and magnitude. The number of plots sold out to the general public was far greater than those existed in the approved plan.
Moreover, there were frequent instances of duplication and cancellation of plots without any justification and plausible reason. The land reserved for amenities was illegally transformed to residential and commercial plots and sold out to the general public. The general public was forced to pay excessive development charges,” a NAB spokesman said.
He said the accused had in 2003-04 illegally started booking and selling plots in Phase-II of the subject housing scheme for which no land was specified in the first place and continued the practice recklessly over a long period.
“The accused deprived the general public of their hard earned money and used the ill-gotten money for their personal gains. They also amassed huge assets and utilized the money to open new ventures,” he said.
