Swift action by KP Finance Department: Rs9.3 Million Recovered and Deposited Back into National Exchequer
DLP Report
PESHAWAR
The finance department on Thursday claimed to have unearthed a major embezzlement case involving alleged alteration of official cheques and unauthorised transfers of public funds into a personal bank account.
According to the department, a divisional accountant of the Forest and Wildlife Department, a self-accounting entity, has been accused of embezzling Rs66.6 million by tampering with official cheques.
Further scrutiny revealed additional unauthorised transfers amounting to Rs92.314 million from the provincial treasury into the accused’s personal bank account.
Officials said the irregularities surfaced due to strengthened financial oversight mechanisms, improved internal controls and detailed reconciliation and compliance reviews across field formations, particularly district accounts offices.
Preliminary investigations suggest that the modus operandi involved verifying the cheque balance before altering the amount , both in figures and words, prior to clearance. The altered cheques were subsequently cleared at the National Bank of Pakistan, Main Branch Saidu Sharif, Swat, without fulfilling mandatory verification requirements.
The finance department clarified that the fraudulent transactions were carried out in violation of prescribed financial rules and without the involvement of the relevant district accounts office.
The report indicates that over a period of six to seven years, serious breaches of established financial safeguards, including the Federal Treasury Rules, were committed.
Upon receiving information about the matter, the department coordinated with the district accounts office and bank authorities to initiate immediate action.
As a result, Rs9.3m was recovered from the accused and deposited into the government treasury under the relevant account head.
Given the gravity of the case, the finance department has written to the Climate Change Forests and Wildlife Department Khyber Pakhtunkhwa directing immediate suspension of the official(s) involved, initiation of departmental proceedings and registration of an FIR against the divisional accountant and any other persons found complicit.
It has also sought necessary action to place the names of the accused on the Exit Control List.
