The spouse of a powerful DMG officer posted in Punjab has declined to cooperate with Federal Investigating Agency (FIA) regarding misappropriation of billions of rupees involving public money of an attached department of the Cabinet Division.
A District Coordination Officer (DCO) in Okara, who is the spouse of a powerful DMG officer and a favorite officer of the Chief Minister Punjab, has declined to reply the FIA regarding misappropriation of Rs. 1.925 billion from the accounts of Abandoned Property Organization (APO) of the Cabinet Division while using two commercial banks – NBP and HBL, said an inquiry officer of the FIA.
FIA Karachi has identified the properties in the name of the main accused for the APO’s misappropriation – late Rafiq Qureshi from Okara district. The DCO in the district is cooperating with the FIA in seizure of the purchased prosperities, he further added.
According to an FIA report submitted to the National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance,
On the complaint of Administrator of APO, an investigation was carried out at NBP and HBL by their separate Internal Audit departments wherein misappropriation of Rs 1.544 billion was initially identified in the APO’s IPS account maintained at NBP.
According to the investigation report, four APO officials in connivance with Ms Saddaf Siddiqui, NBP and Treasury Dealer, Shariq Ali (husband of Sadaf Siddiqui) and Nizamuddin Khan Khusro alias Khusro Rashid, Area Manager HBL, misappropriated funds of APO from April 2014 to Oct 2016.
Ms Sadaf Siddiqui facilitated in siphoning of the amount by selling GoP securities to APO at inflated prices, purchasing T bills with differential amounts and then prematurely selling those T bills and transferring the sale proceeds to 11 fraudulent accounts at different branches of HBL with the majority of the funding credited in the abbreviated account of APO Builders & Contractors.
Subsequently, the funds were withdrawn either in cash or through transfer of funds. Most of the funds were utilized for the purchase of properties.
As per FIA’s report, they have identified 47 properties in suspects’ names, which were allegedly purchased by the accused persons from the proceeds of the misappropriation money. Besides these properties, Ms Sadaf Siddiqui also voluntarily deposited an amount of Rs. 265 million in the account.
On the direction of FIA, NBP has also seized an investment amount of Rs. 28 million.
Habib Bank Limited (HBL) has also taken disciplinary actions against 36 of its officers, including mid-level management staff, the report concludes.
