The National Accountability Bureau has completed its initial inquiry into alleged multibillion-rupee irregularities in the Lyari Expressway Resettlement Project in Karachi and has moved the case into the formal investigation stage.

According to sources familiar with the matter, evidence gathered during the preliminary inquiry pointed to suspected illegal allotments, china cutting, and fake plot allocations linked to the resettlement scheme. NAB officials have also seized thousands of plot files and related records during raids carried out as part of the probe.

Sources said nearly 65 percent of the seized files contained allegedly fake allotment orders. The documents reportedly carried the signatures of assistant directors of land and executive engineers, raising concerns over the possible involvement of government officials in the alleged fraud.

As part of the investigation, NAB has also placed the names of six suspects, including officials, on the Passport Control List to prevent them from leaving the country.

Investigators further alleged that around 20 acres of land associated with the project were fraudulently sold to outsiders. The inquiry team has also recommended a separate investigation into additional irregularities worth around Rs. 8 billion linked to the scheme.

The Lyari Expressway Resettlement Project was launched as a joint initiative of the federal and Sindh governments to rehabilitate nearly 250,000 residents displaced by the construction of the Lyari Expressway.

The project has remained under implementation since 2001, with the federal government contributing 67 percent of the funding and the Sindh government providing the remaining 33 percent.

The latest development points to a widening accountability probe into one of Karachi’s long-running rehabilitation projects, with investigators now examining the role of officials and other individuals linked to the alleged fraudulent allotments and land transactions.