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Express Tribune
05-08-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
Eight officials summoned in RDA scam probe
The Punjab Chief Secretary's fact-finding inquiry committee has summoned eight serving Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) employees and two retired officers to appear in Lahore on August 8 for the sixth round of proceedings in connection with the embezzlement of Rs1.94 billion from a government account. The matter had surfaced in the second week of May this year. Despite the financial scandal spanning over six years, no former Director General or Director of Administration and Finance of the RDAaside from the incumbentshas been summoned to date. Thus far, scrutiny has been limited to junior and subordinate staff. The National Accountability Bureau (NAB)'s ongoing investigation has yet to yield a significant breakthrough. Meanwhile, an internal inquiry committee established at the RDA a fortnight ago hasn't finalised its report. The committee was tasked with determining whether funds held as financial securities in a separate bank account were improperly transferred to other accounts via Call Deposit Receipts (CDRs). Sources in the RDA confirm that CDRs worth Rs1.29b remain unaccounted for in the authority's records. The bank in question has reportedly declined to credit these CDRs back to the RDA without official direction from NAB. Separately, it has been confirmed that Rs1.94b was indeed transferred to other accounts before the scandal's disclosure. The internal RDA committeeestablished to verify whether any such transfers occurred between internal accountshas yet to submit its findings, despite more than two and a half weeks having passed. Those summoned to appear before the Chief Secretary's inquiry committee on August 8 in Lahore include Deputy Director (Finance) Muhammad Masood Arshad, Assistant Director (Finance) Waqar Asghar Raja, senior accountant Syed Al-Raziq, accountants Qasim uz-Zaman, Muhammad Jameel, and Saba Gul, Stenographer Jehangir Ahmed, and senior clerk Shafqat Ali. Additionally, former Director of Administration and Finance, Asif Mahmood Janjua, and former Assistant Director, Khawaja Arshad Javed, both retired, have also been summoned. Notably, over the entire six-year period covered by the scandal, no former DG or Director of Administration and Financeother than the current officialshas been called to account. Last month, the RDA administration begun implementing key reforms to restore financial discipline. As an initial step, the implementation of an irregular promotion was halted, and a revised framework for financial authority was introduced.
Express Tribune
24-06-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
RDA halts promotions amid fraud probe
Over a month after a major financial scandal involving Rs1.94 billion surfaced in the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA), the administration has begun implementing key reforms to restore financial discipline. As an initial step, the implementation of an irregular promotion has been halted, and a revised framework for financial authority has been introduced. Under the new structure, the director finance and deputy director finance have been jointly authorised to approve financial transactions up to Rs0.5 million. According to sources, these reforms come in response to ongoing investigations by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), the Punjab Anti-Corruption Establishment, and a fact-finding committee set up by the chief secretary. The scandal involved the unauthorised transfer of Rs1.94 billion in public funds to various companies and individuals through Call Deposit Receipts (CDRs). In the first phase of corrective actions, the promotion of building inspector Nadeem Jamal has been suspended. Initially working in the engineering department, Jamal was promoted from Grade 11 to Building Superintendent (Grade 16) and subsequently to Assistant Director Engineering (Grade 17). However, a fresh directive has now halted the implementation of his most recent promotion, pending the committee's final decision. In parallel, significant reshuffling has taken place within the finance department. Sohaib Ahmed Qazi, previously Director Finance, has been appointed Deputy Director State Management while continuing to hold additional charge of Director Finance and Administration. Meanwhile, Masood Arshad, formerly Deputy Director of State Management, has been reassigned as Deputy Director Finance. Under the new management, both officials will co-sign all cheques up to Rs0.5 million and jointly manage the bank account used for RDA staff salaries, pensions, utility bills, and other routine expenses. It is worth noting that a dual-signatory system for higher-value cheques was already in placerequiring signatures from both the director general and director finance for amounts exceeding Rs0.5 million. However, years of weak oversight and poor monitoring enabled manipulation of the CDR mechanism, which ultimately led to the massive embezzlement. Investigations suggest the CDR-based system remained unchecked for nearly a decade, allowing for widespread misuse of public funds. NAB probes scam On the other hand, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has begun summoning both serving and retired officers of the RDA in connection with the alleged embezzlement in government funds. All former directors of administration and finance who served over the past decade are being called in phases, with summons already issued. Separately, the fact-finding inquiry committee set up by the Punjab chief secretary is scheduled to hold its second session on Wednesday (today) in Lahore to further investigate the matter. On Monday, several key officials, including RDA Director Land Malik Ghazanfar, who has been the Director of Admin and Finance in RDA, Assistant Director Finance Waqar Asghar Raja, retired Assistant Director Khawaja Arshad Javed, and other officials from the Finance Directorate, appeared before NAB, Rawalpindi.
Express Tribune
13-06-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
Probe begins into RDA scam
A fact-finding committee, constituted by the Punjab Chief Secretary to probe a major financial scandal involving the embezzlement of Rs1.94 billion in public funds and alleged negligence and carelessness by the authorities holding financial signatory powers at the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA), has officially launched its investigation. During its first meeting held in Lahore, the committee raised several concerns regarding RDA's flawed financial management system, demanding complete records of the RDA's bank accounts and the transfer of funds through Call Deposit Receipts (CDRs) to other banks. The next meeting is expected to be held on June 19, during which all Directors of Administration and Finance from the past nine years have been summoned. The decision regarding summoning former Director Generals will be made later. The matter is already under investigation by two separate forums: the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and the Punjab Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE), Rawalpindi Region. Simultaneously, the fact-finding committee formed by the Punjab Chief Secretary convened at the office of Mudassar Waheed Malik, Member Taxes, Board of Revenue Punjab, who is also the convener of the inquiry. Other members present included Moazzam Iqbal Supra, MD of the Punjab Government Servants Housing Foundation, and Madiha Tahir Shah, Additional Secretary A&H. From the RDA, Director-General Kinza Murtaza, Deputy Director Iftikhar Janjua, and Assistant Director Waqar Asghar Raja appeared before the committee. Ex-DD' death sparks concern The committee also reviewed the recent mysterious death — possibly a suicide or murder — of Junaid Taj Bhatti, the former Deputy Director Finance of RDA and former DG of PHA Sialkot. Bhatti died under suspicious circumstances in his Sialkot office on May 13. His death has added further complexity to the scandal. The fact-finding meeting lasted about an hour. The issues raised and the requested records will be thoroughly examined in the upcoming session scheduled for Thursday, June 19, in Lahore. Systemic oversight, audit failures This is considered the biggest financial scandal in RDA's history, spanning nearly a decade. Despite the fact that RDA accounts were audited regularly each year, the massive embezzlement went unnoticed. Shockingly, none of the authorised financial officers, including Director Generals and Directors of Administration and Finance, ever requested or reviewed the bank statements to track fund transfersan act that could have exposed the issue much earlier and led to the establishment of a more secure financial system. During this period, the Divisional Commissioners of Rawalpindi also served as acting DGs of RDA, including the current Secretary Housing Punjab. Several officers from the DMG groupsome of whom are now retired or serving in other high-ranking positionsalso held the RDA DG post during this time. Contractors' payments suspended Contractors and their families faced hardships during the Eidul Azha holidays as no payments were made for the past month or so. Routine operations at the RDA have been severely disrupted following the exposure of a financial scandal in government funds about a month ago. Since the scandal emerged, all payments to contractors have been suspended. When contacted through the RDA spokesperson, Director General Kinza Murtaza said that payments would be made to the contractors soon. However, no explanation was provided as to why payments had been delayed so far or why the contractors had been left in distress.
