From dumper driver to billionaire: NAB arrests key accused in Rs40bn Kohistan embezzlement scam

PESHAWAR: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) KP has arrested a former dumper driver allegedly involved in a massive Rs40 billion financial scam.

The accused is charged with embezzling more than Rs3 billion directly from the government treasury through a fake company and conducting transactions of over Rs16 billion through multiple bank accounts.

According to sources, the accused, who posed as the owner and director of the fake M/s Mumtaz Khan Construction Company, was apprehended by NAB Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Abbottabad. He was later produced before an Accountability Court in Peshawar, which granted NAB an eight-day physical remand for further interrogation and recovery of evidence. Initial investigations reveal that the accused was once an ordinary dumper driver who, in collusion with other suspects, established a fake construction firm used as a front for massive embezzlement. The funds were allegedly siphoned off from the Contractors’ Security Deposit Head of Account (G-10113) — an account meant to ensure the completion of government projects.

The company and its bank accounts reportedly served as the main conduit for transferring and laundering the embezzled money. NAB officials said the accused maintained several accounts across different banks, showing a total turnover exceeding Rs16 billion, while more than Rs3 billion was received directly through fraudulent treasury cheques. According to NAB, the accused used complex money-laundering techniques, including “layering,” to conceal the origins of the illicit funds. He allegedly purchased luxury properties, vehicles, and other high-value assets in his own name as well as in the names of relatives, benamidars (name-lenders), and co-accused individuals to hide real ownership.