Mastermind behind Rs40 billion corruption scandal arrested

PESHAWAR: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has arrested Qaiser Iqbal, the main accused in one of the country’s biggest financial scandals, the Kohistan Rs 40 billion corruption case, along with his wife, while sources say that some influential and important figures are likely to be arrested in the next few days.

Gold, foreign currency, valuable vehicles, original documents of properties and records of checks were recovered from the accused’s house. The network extended even above departmental officers and continued for several years with the connivance of senior officers.

According to NAB officials, accused Qaiser and his wife were taken into custody immediately after their discharge from the Abbottabad Medical Complex. The accused are accused of embezzling more than Rs 40 billion of public funds.

According to NAB sources, billions of rupees were illegally withdrawn from the government treasury account G-10113 in the Kohistan corruption case. Officers and officials of the Communication and Works (C&W) Department, District Accounts Office, AG Office and National Bank of Pakistan in collusion with contractors and private individuals of Upper Kohistan embezzled funds allocated for government projects.

Investigation revealed that billions of rupees were withdrawn from the government treasury by preparing fake bills, fake schedules and bogus checks. NAB has arrested several accused including government employees, bankers and contractors, while gold, foreign currency, cash, valuable vehicles and properties worth billions of rupees have been recovered.

According to NAB, Qaiser Iqbal, who was posted as a clerk and later as head clerk in the Communication and Works (C&W) Department Upper Kohistan, is the central character and mastermind of this scam.