RDA blames ex-officers for Rs1.94b scam
The Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) has held a retired Director of Administration and Finance, a late Deputy Director of Finance, and a retired Assistant Director of Finance responsible for a mega financial scandal amounting to Rs1.94 billion.
The authority has formally referred the matter to the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE), the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for action and recovery of losses.
According to an official statement issued by the RDA Director-General, Kinza Murtaza, serious irregularities have been identified in the financial records of the authority, causing substantial loss to the public exchequer.
The individuals allegedly involved include the retired Director of Admin and Finance, the late former DD of Finance, and the retired AD of Finance.
The DG emphasised that recovering the financial losses resulting from this corruption is imperative. She noted that legal recovery of the amounts due is possible within the framework of the law, including through attachment and confiscation of properties and assets.
Citing relevant legal provisions, she referenced section C-33 of the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999 for recovery of embezzled funds, sections 12 and 15 of the NAB Ordinance for freezing and confiscating assets, section 50 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (CPC) for recovery of civil liabilities from the estate of a deceased person, and Order XXII Rule 4 of the CPC to initiate legal proceedings against legal heirs after the death of an accused.
Murtaza has formally written to the NAB Rawalpindi, FIA, and ACE Rawalpindi, urging swift recovery of the embezzled amount.
Talking to The Express Tribune, sources revealed that senior officials, who served as DGs or Directors of Admin and Finance in the RDA over the past nine years, and who held signatory authority over financial matters, might also face action from NAB, FIA, and the ACE for failing to ensure transparency.
Meanwhile, the official residence of the late DD Finance was sealed in Civil Lines in the nine-year-old mega corruption scandal in the Authority. Despite 236 suspicious transactions involving the RDA's National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) account, transfers were made to eight companies and 12 individuals and the RDA's financial discipline remained silent, the sources added.
It is still to be determined which officials received vehicles in exchange for an Rs110m payment made to a car showroom.
Separate payments of Rs175.7 million, Rs339.44m, Rs161.412m, Rs264.45m, Rs393.16m, and Rs74,25m were paid to several companies and individuals.
Meanwhile, a probe committee appointed by the RDA DG says it is not currently in a position to identify the primary culprit behind the fraud.
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