NAB names Omni Group CEO Abdul Ghani Majeed, Malik Riaz's son, son-in-law in new reference

The National Accountability Bureau's (NAB) Rawalpindi branch announced on Monday that it had filed a reference against the chief executive officer (CEO) of Omni Group Abdul Ghani Majeed and property tycoon Malik Riaz's son and son-in-law.

The reference also names Muhammad Younis, Abdul Jabbar, Muhammad Shabbir, Aftab Ahmad Memon, Syed Muhammad Shah, former assistant commissioner Muhammad Garho, Sohail Ahmad Memon, Mumtaz Ali Channa, Muhammad Ali Kalwar, Mehtab Ali Sahito, Gul Kalwar, Qurban Ali, Muhammad Aslam Qureshi, M/S Bahria Town Pvt Ltd and M/S Pink Residency.

The reference has been filed in an investigation into holders of public office, legal persons and others allegedly involved in the ongoing fake bank accounts case pertaining to a misuse of authority in the allotment or regularisation of government land in flavor of M/S Pink Residency and others.

Those named in the reference are accused of misusing their authority and causing losses worth Rs 2.5 billion to the national exchequer. NAB Rawalpindi, as part of its reference into the allotment of over 30 acres of land worth Rs 2.5bn, has cautioned the relevant authority to avoid any further sale or purchase of land.

Earlier, on April 3, NAB had filed the first interim reference in the fake accounts case, nominating eight senior government officials and the director of a private company.

The suspects nominated in the first reference included the former administrator of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC), Mohammad Hussain Syed, and former metropolitan commissioners of KMC, Matanat Ali Khan and Samiuddin Siddique.

Others nominated in the reference include Additional Director KDA Wing KMC, Syed Khalid Zafar Hashmi, former director KDA Wing KMC Najamuz Zaman, assistant directors of KDA Wing KMC, Abdul Rasheed and Abdul Ghani, and Director M/s Parthenon Younus Kudwavi.

The fake accounts case involves alleged money laundering worth billions of rupees through 29 accounts, which were found opened in three banks — Summit Bank, Sindh Bank and United Bank Ltd.

The Federal Investigation Agency had named PPP leaders Asif Ali Zardari, his sibling Faryal Talpur, Omni Group chairman Anwar Majeed, his sons and over 10 others as suspects in an interim charge sheet filed in a banking court in August last year.

The case was recently transferred from the banking court in Karachi to the accountability court of Rawalpindi for trial.