Sindh finance secy takes action against group running pension scam

KARACHI: The Secretary of Finance, Sindh, has taken decisive action against a group running an organized fraud scheme involving fake pension bills, resulting in a monthly financial loss of approximately Rs 5 million over several months. Besides they are threatening, blackmailing, and physically attacking officers of the district accounts office, Hyderabad who refuse to do their bidding.

The Secretary’s action was prompted by a written complaint from Amir Ali Sangi, the Additional District Accounts Officer of Hyderabad. According to Sangi, the said group has been orchestrating an organized fraud scheme involving fake pension bills, resulting in a substantial monthly financial loss of approximately Rs 5 million over several months. This revelation follows a pattern of corruption scandals previously associated with the District Finance Office, Hyderabad.

Official documents highlight Sangi’s identification of 49 suspicious and fake pension accounts and asked the Secretary of Finance to close them. Sangi, in his letter to the secretary, has alleged the existence of a mafia responsible for manipulating pension cases. The officials of the District Finance Office, Hyderabad are subjected to attacks, blackmail, and harassment when they refuse to comply with the illegal orders of this mafia. In response to Sangi’s submission, the Finance Secretary directed the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Hyderabad, to register a case against the suspects and take appropriate legal action.

Official documents also reveal that the suspicious pension cases involve fake identities, with some claiming to be senior government officers. Notably, individuals such as Muhammad Bilal posing as a retired Accountant General, Rahim Bakhsh as a retired Additional Chief Secretary, and Khadim Hussain as an Additional Director of the Federal Ministry of Petroleum have been shown in the official record as retired officers and their dummy wives getting their pensions every month. This latest scandal brings to light the pervasive issue of corruption within the pension fund of the District Finance Office, Hyderabad.