ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has announced a public auction of six properties belonging to Bahria Town in Rawalpindi and Islamabad, scheduled for June 12. The move is part of ongoing efforts to recover funds linked to a plea bargain arrangement involving property tycoon Malik Riaz.
In an official notification issued Tuesday, NAB stated that the auction includes five properties in Rawalpindi and one in Islamabad, all associated with Riaz, who remains an absconder in the £190 million Al Qadir Trust case.
The properties are being auctioned under Section 33E of the NAB Ordinance, 1999, which permits recovery through the sale of assets in default of a plea bargain. NAB’s Media Director, Birj Lal Dosani, confirmed to Dawn.com that the auction is part of the recovery process stemming from corruption charges.
Earlier this year, NAB intensified its actions against Malik Riaz and his family, warning the public against investing in Bahria Town’s Dubai projects and initiating extradition proceedings for Riaz and his son, Ali Ahmed Malik.
In February, NAB filed a reference against Riaz, former Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, Minister Sharjeel Memon, and others over illegal land transfers to Bahria Town. Additional references involved the unlawful acquisition of 4,500 kanals of state land in Rawalpindi’s New Murree and the Takht Pari forest area, developed as Bahria Golf City.
In March, NAB sealed several Bahria Town properties across Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, New Murree, and Takht Pari and froze hundreds of bank accounts and vehicles associated with the real estate conglomerate.
A Rawalpindi accountability court has also issued non-bailable arrest warrants for Malik Riaz and his son in connection with the Takht Pari case.
NAB has repeatedly cautioned the public against falling for “attractive inducements” by Bahria Town, urging citizens to safeguard their investments.
According to senior legal expert Khawaja Haris, a plea bargain is deemed successful when an accused confesses to wrongdoing and agrees to return embezzled funds in exchange for leniency.
From 2000 to 2022, NAB recovered Rs65 billion through plea bargains out of a total of Rs91.55 billion, a bureau official told the Supreme Court.
