LAHORE: National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Lahore has initiated the disbursement of Rs 3.20 billion among the victims of the Eden Housing Scam.
NAB Chairman Lt. Gen. (R) Nazir Ahmad highlighted that the total claims submitted by 11,880 victims against the Eden administration amounted to Rs 13 billion; however, NAB succeeded in a plea bargain of Rs 16 billion, exceeding the total claimed amount by 23%, thereby ensuring enhanced compensation for all the affected.
He said that NAB Lahore had, so far, recovered Rs 11.8 billion from Eden authorities, out of which Rs 8.6 billion had already been disbursed among the victims.
“With the commencement of the fifth instalment of Rs 3.2 billion, the bureau continues its efforts to recover the remaining Rs. 4.2 billion, for which the performance of NAB Lahore merits recognition and appreciation,” he added.
He announced that victims would no longer be required to visit NAB offices to receive their compensation; instead, the payments would be transferred directly into their bank accounts through a streamlined digital system.
The chairman appreciated NAB Lahore and investigation teams decisively working against illegal housing schemes and said that since its establishment, the bureau had achieved record recoveries totalling Rs 236 billion, with Rs 233 billion disbursed to approximately 94,000 affected.
NAB chief also disclosed a plan to launch a comprehensive nationwide crackdown against fraudulent allotments of public land, again in coordination with provincial governments.
NAB Lahore DG Ghulam Safdar Shah reiterated that since its inception, NAB Lahore had recovered a total of Rs 236 billion, including Rs 45.5 billion through direct recoveries, Rs 177 billion indirectly, Rs 12 billion through settlements, and Rs 1 billion in court-imposed fines.
