LAHORE: An accountability court in Lahore on Monday sent former Lahore Development Authority (LDA) director general Ahad Cheema and Bismillah Engineering’s chief executive officer (CEO) Shahid Shafiq to prison on 15-day judicial remand in a case pertaining to the Ashiana Housing Scheme scam.
A NAB prosecutor informed the judge that the Bureau has gathered “important” evidence against Cheema with regard to his assets believed to be beyond his known sources of income.
He is also found to be owning assets worth millions of rupees. Besides, a huge amount to the tune of $200,000 was also transacted into his brother’s bank account.
The Bureau requested the court to extend Cheema’s physical remand for further questioning, but it rejected the request and sent him and Shafiq to jail on 15-day judicial remand.
Cheema, who is considered to be a close confidant of Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif, was arrested on February 21 on charges of financial irregularities in the Punjab Land Development Company (PLDC) and Ashiana-e-Iqbal Housing Scheme Scam.
He has been accused of misusing his authority with criminal intent to award a contract to Bismillah Engineering on the basis of nepotism, causing a loss of Rs 455 million to the national exchequer.
