Islamabad accountability court convicted the owner of Safa Gold Mall and four officials of CDA
Islamabad accountability court convicted the owner of Safa Gold Mall and four officials of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) in connection with the construction of additional illegal stories in the mall at F-7.
The court in its decision declared three additional stories of the mall illegal.
Accountability judge Azam Khan sentenced the mall owner Rana Abdul Qayyum to seven years’ imprisonment with a fine of Rs1 billion.
Meanwheil, the ex-deputy director general CDA Ghulam Murtaza Malik was sentenced five years in jail and deputy director Ammar Idrees to three years’ imprisonment.
The court also convicted CDA officials Khalil Ahmed and Khadim Hussain and imposed a fine of Rs100,000 and awarded two years in prison. However, these two officials have already completed their jail terms, according to news reports.
The owner of Safa Gold Mall had earlier filed an application with the NAB chairman, seeking pardon and release but the application was rejected.
National Accountability Bureau (NAB) accused Rana Abdul Qayyum of knowingly and with criminal intent in collusion with CDA officials gaining illegal favors and undue benefits which caused the authorities a loss of about Rs1.07 billion.
According to the prosecution, the allotment letter clearly defined that the floor-area ratio of the building would be 1:5 which means the number of floors were to be ground plus four.