Daily Times

Former Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Member of Provincial Assembly (MPA) Qaiser Amin Butt, the main accused in the Paragon Housing scam, was shifted to the Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) on Saturday owing to a heart ailment.

The former PML-N MPA Qaiser Amin Butt is under the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) custody in the Paragon scam along with PML-N leaders Khawaja Saad Rafique and Khawaja Salman Rafique.

He has undergone initial tests at the medical facility. NAB claims that Rafique brothers in association with Qaiser Amin Butt and Nadeem Zia established a housing project in the name of Air Avenue which was converted into a new housing project namely M/S Paragon City Pvt Limited.

“Accused in collusion, connivance and collaboration of Amin Butt and Nadeem Zia cheated the members of public at large and obtained illegal pecuniary benefits from the funds of said illegal housing project,” NAB said. “Accused has been and is continuously obtaining illegal/ illegitimate funds/ benefits from said project as he obtained 40 kanal plots in his own name and the name of his brother Khawaja Salman Rafique.”

Further, it stated, “The accused is operating this illegal housing project through his associates/ co-accused persons who are collecting deposits from general public despite clear directions from Lahore Development Authority that this project is unapproved. The accused by misusing his official position continued the expansion and marketing of illegal housing project and also obtained undue benefits in the form of sale of numbers of commercial plots worth billions of rupees which were actually not owned by M/S Paragon City. Thus the buyers have been cheated through this action of corruption and corrupt practices.”

Published in Daily Times, December 16^th 2018.