MULTAN: An audit team has unearthed a ‘scam’ of Rs17.952 million allegedly committed by the staff of Children Hospital Complex, including medical superintendent, by making bogus payments to a private firm in connivance with the district accounts office, it is learnt.

As per details, incumbent medical superintendent Dr Mazharul Khaliq and former MS Dr Shahid Bukhari as drawing and disbursing officer (DDO), made payments through bills of purchase of drugs and medicines to Vitro Diagnostic Services during the last three years.

Sources said initially an audit team [during inspection] noticed irregularities and asked the hospital administration to provide details about the supply and billing as the record was missing from stock register while officials deployed at the store expressed their ignorance about receiving any supply.

Record shows bogus payments made to unregistered firm

They said the order numbers of the firm that allegedly committed irregularities [of Rs3.97m] were overwritten while some bills were not signed by the hospital pharmacist and the tendering documents were also not attached with the bills. The firm was not a registered entity as well.

They said the team pointed out that the expenditure statement showed spending of Rs143.6m but the record provided to the audit team was of Rs139.6m.

They said the team asked District Accounts Officer Mahar Riaz Haraj to submit the relevant record [bills] and tendering documents and he failed to provide the required material.

They said the team recommended special audit of the payments made to the firm during the last three years.

The sources said Anti-Corruption Establishment Director Amjad Shoaib Tareen directed his staff to probe the matter and collect the record. They said the account office staff provided partial record to the ACE while the hospital administration informed that they had no record.

Haraj said as both the departments used to consolidate expenditure on a monthly basis, the entire responsibility lay with the hospital staff.

He said being a pre-audit agency it was not the responsibility of accounts office to demand the tendering documents from the hospital staff.

“The accounts office has nothing to do with the tendering process and [tender] documents are not available with the department,” he said.

ACE Director Tareen, talking to Dawn, said: “The department is expecting recovery of more than Rs13m. It has been proved that the payment was made to a contractor [firm] who was not listed with the department; however both medical superintendents are denying their role in the scam while their signatures were also bogus.”

He said signatures of both officials would be sent for forensic test.

Published in Dawn, November 7th, 2018