ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Monday distributed cheques to the affected persons offour housing scams in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

According to the NAB headquarters, a ceremony for the distribution of recovered amounts to the affected plot seekers was held at bureau`s headquarters which was chaired by Deputy Chairman NAB Sohail Nasir.

Substantial cheques were distributed among victims of four housing projects in Rawalpindiand IslamabadGhauri Town, Arain City, Gulshan Rehman, and Jeddah Town.

Deputy Chairman NAB Sohail Nasir, Prosecutor General Accountability Syed Ehtisham Qadir Shah, Director General NAB Rawalpindi Mirza Mohammad Irfan Baig, and other officers distributed the cheques among the victims.

On the occasion, Deputy Chairman NAB Sohail Nasir said that comprehensive measures were being taken to prevent corruption.

He said citizens should only invest in legally approved housing projects after thorough scrutiny and knowledge to protect themselves from fraud anddeception.

The NAB`s deputy chief said NAB`s public awareness campaign regarding safe investments in real estate was underway, however, it was the duty of citizens to take all possible precautions to avoid fraud.

Mr Sohail said NAB`s crackdown on plunderers of public funds has been intensified, and it was encouraging that in a short period of one year, NAB has recovered Rs1.5 billion from the managements of these four housing projects.

Later, he distributed shields among NAB officers who demonstrated excellent performance and paid tribute to the servicesof NAB investigation officers who played a crucial role in recovering the funds of the victims in these four housing projects through their day and night efforts.

Director General NAB Rawalpindi Mirza Muhammad Irfan Baig, while outlining the performance of NAB Rawalpindi, stated that NAB Rawalpindi has so far recovered Rs38 billion in housing fraud cases. Of which, Rs32.8 billion have been returned to the public or deposited into the national treasury.

DG NAB Rawalpindi further informed that since January 2023, Rs23.8 billion have been returned to 8,000 victims.