NAB claims Rs20bn recovery in Kohistan mega corruption scandal

PESHAWAR: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has claimed recovery of Rs20 billion while acting in a Rs40 billion Kohistan mega corruption scandal — the largest in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s history.

KP Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has expressed dissatisfaction over the information provided by the Finance, C&W, and the Accountant General’s office, and ordered the suspension of all the officers, including Executive Engineers (XENs) and SDOs, involved in the corruption within three days. Additionally, the Director General of Audit has been instructed to carry out a special audit of the said government accounts in 36 districts.

Speaker Babar Saleem Swati, expressing surprise at the transfer of Accountant General, questioned, “AG Sahib, we heard you have been transferred? How can a transfer take place at such a time?” The PAC will write to the Accountant General of Pakistan to ensure that the KP AG not be transferred until the inquiry is completed.

The meeting was informed that nine officials involved in the scandal have so far been suspended. During the meeting, government officers were seen blaming each other. A heated exchange also took place between opposition member Ahmad Kundi and Finance Adviser Muzzammil Aslam.

Speaker Swati stated that the Kohistan corruption case is the biggest in the province’s history. As per current investigations, the Finance Department, C&W, and AG Office are found to be involved; however, no political figure is involved so far. NAB has performed well in handling the case, he said. The speaker disclosed that NAB has recovered 50 percent — approximately Rs20 billion — and expressed the hope that NAB would recover 99 percent of the looted money.

The secretary C&W informed the PAC that the department has initiated an inquiry and suspended seven officials linked to the case from 2019 to 2024. Documents from this period have been verified by the AG Office and the Finance Department. It was found that many cheques issued to contractors of development projects in Kohistan might be fake.

MPA Sajjad Abbasi pointed out that many C&W contractors are fake, and that fake companies registered under different names should be blacklisted. However, the Chief Engineer C&W maintained that all records are verified by audit and the Finance Department, and no corruption has taken place in their department.

The DG Audit said that irregularities of more than Rs21 billion were pointed out in last year’s audit. Audit officers reviewed accounts and expenditures of 18 districts across six divisions, identifying an additional Rs6 billion in irregularities. All data from Kohistan was reviewed, which revealed massive irregularities. Therefore, to fully investigate the corruption in Kohistan, a 10-year financial record must be reviewed. He requested a deadline of the end of December to present a full audit report on Kohistan’s corruption.

He added that audits need to be carried out for 3,500 offices in KP. Given that Rs40 billion is a huge amount for a poor province like KP, a thorough audit will be conducted.

Speaker Swati appreciated Arshad Aziz Malik of Jang Group for exposing the Rs40 billion scam, adding he unearthed a mega scam, and they will honour him soon.