PESHAWAR: An unprecedented financial scandal has erupted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, with over Rs40 billion reportedly misappropriated from government accounts. The staggering amount continues to rise as investigations unfold. Investigations have led the authorities to freeze nearly 50 bank accounts and seize records from various government departments and financial institutions.
During the probe, a startling revelation emerged as a dumper driver’s bank accounts were found holding approximately Rs4.5 billion, which was immediately frozen by NAB. The driver had set up a fake construction company. Evidence revealed that a total of nearly Rs7billion had been deposited into his accounts through suspicious transactions.
Initial investigations also uncovered the issuance of nearly 1,000 fake cheques from the district’s government accounts, with 50 account holders identified so far. Evidence increasingly points to the involvement of influential political figures and senior government officials at the provincial level.
Sources said the inquiry began after the NAB Chairman received credible information about massive financial irregularities in Upper Kohistan. Despite an annual developmental budget of only Rs500million to Rs1.5billion, nearly Rs40billion were misappropriated from government accounts over five years (2020 to 2024) — a figure far exceeding decades of the district’s developmental grants.
The sophisticated fraud has astonished even seasoned investigators of NAB. Rs40billion were embezzled from the provincial government bank account titled Security and Deposit Works KP 10113 under the pretence of contractor securities.
This account, meant for development projects, contractor securities, and payments, was manipulated through forged documents, inflated bills, and fake securities. So far, the inquiry has found that approximately Rs40billion were withdrawn in an organised fashion, in blatant violation of KP’s financial system.
The highly complex and multi-layered fraud involved the Communication and Works (C&W) Department, Upper Kohistan, which prepared fake security refunds, fabricated records, inflated project costs, and approved fictitious contractor securities, flouting all regulations, exaggerated project costs, and issued fake securities.
The District Accounts Officer (DAO) of Upper Kohistan approved unauthorised payments in blatant violation of the General Financial Rules (GFR) and Treasury Rules. Private contractors, in collusion with government officials, submitted fake bills for non-existent projects, while some employees of a bank in Dassu, Upper Kohistan, unlawfully transferred government funds to private accounts, flouting State Bank of Pakistan regulations and anti-money laundering laws.
