The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Thursday filed reference pertaining to assets beyond means of income against Sindh Assembly Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani. NAB has named 20 persons including Agha Siraj as accused in the reference filed in an accountability court. According to the NAB charge-sheet the accused were involved in corruption of up to Rs 1.6 billion. The court has yet to approve the NAB reference against Agha Siraj and others for hearing. The NAB officials informed Sindh High Court (SHC) on Wednesday that reference will be filed against Durrani and other accused on Thursday. A high court bench headed by Chief Justice Ahmed Ali Shaikh hearing bail petitions of Agha Siraj Durrani, his brother and other accused. In the progress report of the case, the NAB investigation officer informed the court that the NAB inquiry had unearthed 35 vehicles owned by Siraj Durrani as well as expensive properties. He said that the probe against Durrani and co-accused had been completed and evidence about illegal use of authority, illegal recruitment and other corrupt practices had been found. “The bureau has also key evidence about his assets beyond means of income,” the NAB investigation officer said. The bench ordered NAB to submit a report to the court on June 11 after filing the reference against the provincial assembly speaker. Accountability court hears case against Saad Rafique, Salman Rafique Earlier, the NAB executive board had approved filing of a reference against Sindh Assembly Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani in the assets beyond means case. NAB Karachi had arrested Speaker Sindh Assembly Agha Siraj Durrani from a hotel in Islamabad in February this year. Separately, an accountability court in Lahore on Thursday directed NAB to file a reference against Khawaja Saad Rafique and his brother Khawaja Salman Rafique amid hearing of the Paragon Housing scam. During proceedings, the NAB investigating officer informed the court that the reference against the Khawaja brothers had been approved by the bureau’s chairman and copies would be presented in court soon. Khawaja Salman Rafique appeared in court. Khawaja Saad Rafique was in Islamabad to attend the National Assembly session. The court extended the judicial remand of the Khawaja brothers till June 13. “Saad Rafique along with his benamidaar wife Ghazala Saad Rafique, brother Salman Rafique 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. Record shows that M/S Paragon City is an illegal society,” the NAB report stated. “Accused in collusion, connivance and collaboration of Qaiser 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,” it added. “Accused is operating this illegal housing project through his associates/co-accused persons who are collecting deposits from general public despite clear directions from LDA that this project is unapproved.” “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 Salman Rafique.” “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.”