ISLAMABAD: A special court on Tuesday rejected the pre-arrest bail pleas of 13 accused in the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) mega corruption case and ordered their immediate arrest.

Following the ruling, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) apprehended seven accused directly from the court premises.

The decision was announced by Special Judge Central Humayun Dilawar after a detailed hearing of bail petitions, filed by several officials and former executives of the state-run news agency. The case involves allegations of embezzling more than Rs1.24 billion through fake pension payments, provident fund withdrawals, and salary account manipulations.

The FIA teams took into custody seven of the accused from the courtroom.

During the hearing, the FIA informed the court that the case was registered after a transparent inquiry which uncovered strong documentary evidence against the accused. Investigators claimed that huge sums were transferred illegally into personal accounts of the APP employees and officials, in addition to the misuse of salary and pension accounts.

FIA Assistant Director (Legal) Khushnood Bhatti informed the court that several accused were drawing both salaries and pensions simultaneously. He explained that names were added to pension lists without authorization, and when pensions were released, the extra amounts were diverted into private accounts. Similarly, provident fund amounts, deducted from employees’ salaries, were also misappropriated.

Lawyers representing the accused attempted to challenge the FIA’s claims. One of their counsels read out the FIR in the court, stating that no money was transferred into his client’s account and he never signed any documents.

FIA investigators stressed that embezzlement had been proven through audits, account records, and cheque verifications. They told the court that recovery of funds required immediate custody of the accused, as many continued to benefit from the diverted money.

The case commenced when the APP administration itself filed a complaint with the FIA, alleging embezzlement of Rs1.24 billion. Following the complaint, the FIA initiated an inquiry and registered a case against multiple officials of the national news agency.

Published in Dawn, September 17th, 2025