RS40B Kohistan fraud triggers a large probe

Peshawar:

The government of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has initiated an investigation of a mega corruption scandal in the Kohistan district, in which 40 billion RS was allegedly switched off by the Provincial Ministry of Finance.

The scandal was examined during a meeting of the committee for public accounts (PAC) under the chair of the spokesman for the KP meeting Babar Saleem Swati under intensive examination.

Officials from the financial department and the accountant's general book admitted during the meeting that billions had been misused by state funds.

While previously an official embezzlement of 24 billion rupees has been confirmed, the PAC members expressed dissatisfied with the explanations that were delivered by the secretary finance and the general accountant.

The speaker then ordered a special examination of the case by the Auditor General Pakistan.

In his briefing to the committee, AG Naseruddin said that the AG office was responsible for the functions before the audit, while responsibility after the audit was delegated to the finance department after earlier negotiations, because the constitution that assigned this obligation to the AG office.

Spokesman Swati pressed AG Naseruddin, as such as such a big embezzlement appeared under the clock of the department.

The AG replied that the problem did not only take place during its term and several civil servants had been involved for several years.

According to the preliminary results, 182 billion RS were paid in between 2016 and 2024 RS to a certain state account, while RS was withdrawn 205 billion RS, which asked serious questions about surveillance and accountability. According to reports, the report in question was closed six months ago when irregularities were discovered.

“The scale of this corruption cannot be recorded exclusively at district accounts or employees at a lower level,” said Speaker Swati and emphasized that responsibility must also be determined at high -ranking levels.

The financial secretary also failed to meet the committee with his answers to the scandal. In response to this, spokesman Swati ordered the immediate suspension of all officials involved, including those of the finance department, the communication and labor department (C&W) and the AG office. A formal examination was started.

This development has sent shock waves through the provincial administration and triggered serious concerns about financial surveillance in state institutions.

In the meantime, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has confiscated official records of several important government departments in relation to the Kohistan -Mega scandal.

The departments involved include the finance department of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, the district account office Kohistan, the communication and labor department (C&W) and the Auditor General (AG) Office in Peshawar.

As part of his investigation, NAB also made relevant banks regarding people who have withdrawn large sums of money from various financial institutions.

In the briefing, NAB's investigative director showed that the examination of the Kohistan scandal was still in the early stages. The director confirmed that the records of the departments were secured, and further developments in the investigation are immediately informed of the PAC.