LAHORE: The Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) said on Wednesday it arrested not only 11 officials and contractors allegedly involved in over Rs1 billion corruption in the Suthra Punjab project in Faisalabad but also made 100 per cent recovery of the embezzled money.

“We have arrested 11 suspects of total 12 in the Suthra Punjab project in Faisalabad,” an ACE spokesperson told Dawn on Wednesday.

“A sum of Rs600m surety guarantee of the firm -- M/s Care Consortium -- has been confiscated besides stopping Rs400m payment to it. It’s bank accounts worth Rs60m have also been frozen. A 100 per cent recovery in the scam has been made,” the spokesperson said.

Claims 100pc recovery of embezzled money

The ACE had booked former CEO/MD of Faisalabad Waste Management Company (FWMC) Muhammad Rauf, manager operations Abdullah Nazir Bajwa, manager Asad Elahi, manager finance Ahsan Nadim, transport officer Arshad Ansari, sanitary inspector Abid, manager procurement Waqas Asghar, district manager Hafiz Tayyab, and the contractors, M/s Care Consortium -- Muhammad Farooq Khan, Muhammad Qaisar, Muhammad Shafiq and Rai Qamar Zaman, under different sections of the PPC.

The contractors, in connivance with the staff of IT and operation of the FWMC, caused a loss of Rs1bn to the national exchequer. The M/s Care Consortium was awarded the contract in 2024. In collusion with the officials of the FWMC, it embezzled a huge sum of money (Rs1bn) during November 2004 and April 2026.

According to the ACE, the suspects showed 2,317 (waste) containers deployed at various points on papers and received an amount against them. In actuality, they placed only 1,717 containers.

“Similarly, they also did not place mini-dumpers but received an amount against them. They also showed 633 ghost sanitary workers and withdrew salaries against them. The firm was supposed to install 118 waste enclosures but only 33 were set up and would receive an amount against 118 enclosures,” it said.

Published in Dawn, May 21st, 2026