NAB seeks trial of Malik Riaz, eight others over Bahria Town Karachi

The National Accountability Bureau has sought the trial of property tycoon Malik Riaz Hussain, eight other people and Bahria Town (Pvt) Ltd over alleged irregularities in the sale of plots and other property at Bahria Town Karachi.

The accountability reference, signed by NAB Chairman Lt Gen (retd) Nazir Ahmed and addressed to the accountability court in Karachi, puts the loss to 264 verified claimants at Rs1.75 billion. That figure combines Rs910.93 million in principal investment and Rs843.96 million in markup, calculated by a financial expert on banking benchmarks. NAB says the assessment covers only documented claims examined so far.

Central to the reference is the allegation that the company sold about 196,403 property files against an approved layout capacity of 89,704 units. A further 7,599 refund claims submitted to the company were still outstanding, it says.

Buyers, according to the reference, put money into plots, villas, apartments and commercial units in Bahria Paradise, Bahria Sports City, Bahria Greens, Bahria Homes and Liberty Commercial, among other schemes. Some of the promised units did not exist or sat on land without lawful ownership or regulatory approval, NAB alleges. Allotments were cancelled without notice and neither refunds nor lawful alternative plots were provided, it says.

Named with Malik Riaz are his son Ahmed Ali Riaz, Zain Malik, Bina Riaz, Hina Malik, Naeem Hussain Malik, Waseem Riffat, Mubashira Ali Malik and Manzoor Qadir, a former director general of the Sindh Building Control Authority. The document records that Hina Malik has held 99.9 per cent of the company's shares since January 2, 2025.

NAB traces the alleged irregularities to September 2013, when Bahria Town began collecting registration and processing fees without land ownership, an approved master plan or a no-objection certificate. Qadir is accused of endorsing permission for a paid "market survey" despite regulatory objections and of waiving mandatory documentation. Bookings were then advertised as "Token Approved" by the SBCA, with minimum booking amounts of Rs150,000.

Precincts 38, 39, 40, 42, 42-A, 61, 62 and 63, along with Bahria Greens, lacked approval for sales and advertising, the reference says. It says a revenue official's report identified land in Deh Mole, Jamshoro, as state land, and that the SBCA cancelled its no-objection certificate for sales and advertisements on September 8, 2025.

The reference cites the Supreme Court's 2019 consent order covering 16,896 acres and alleges the development went beyond those limits. It says the company had paid about Rs24 billion against a commitment of Rs460 billion up to October 2022, and notes third-party rights created for more than 140,000 allottees.

NAB opened an inquiry in June 2024 and upgraded it to an investigation in June 2025. It seeks prosecution under the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999.