PESHAWAR: An accountability court here has rejected bail plea of a former senior auditor of the accountant general’s office charged with facilitating the prime accused in a high-profile case involving the alleged embezzlement of over Rs37 billion in the Upper Kohistan district accounts office.

After the completion of arguments by both parties, Judge Kaleem Arshad Khan declared that the accused, Radiullah, was not entitled to the concession of bail.

The accused was arrested last year, along with scores of others, by the National Accountability Bureau, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, before he remained in its custody for many days.

NAB special prosecutor Manzoor Alam said that on April 8, 2025, the bureau received a source report alleging a massive financial scam in Upper Kohistan, involving misappropriation of more than Rs36.63 billion from the contractors’ security deposit head of Account G-10113.

He said that the allegations implicated a network of government officials, bank personnel and private contractors including the present four suspects in a well-planned conspiracy that exploited systematic vulnerabilities and violated Accounting Policies and Procedures Manual (APP Manual).

The special prosecutor said that the accused and petitioner, Radiullah, was a senior auditor at the Accountant General’s Office Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and was also a member of the audit committee for the Upper Kohistan scandal.

He said that the accused by abetting and aiding other co-accused had facilitated the unauthorised withdrawal of huge amounts of government exchequer and concealed the material and critical details.

The NAB special prosecutor claimed that the accused remained silent on the irregularities that came to light after the audit.

He added that the role of the petitioner enabled the other accused to continue the commission of the offence at an exponential loss to public exchequer.

The petitioner’s counsel argued that around a year had passed since the arrest of his client, yet the inquiry and investigation into the scandal had still not been completed.

He argued that so far the prosecution had not submitted reference in the case and the trial had yet to commence. He added that there was no possibility of commencement and conclusion of the trial in near future.

The counsel argued that the petitioner couldn’t be in jail for an indefinite period.

The NAB prosecutor rebutted his arguments stating that the petitioner couldn’t be granted bail merely on the ground of delay in completion of an inquiry or investigation.

Until now, the NAB has arrested over 40 accused in the case.

The NAB has alleged that prime accused Qaiser Iqbal, a former head clerk in the communication and works department, along with other accused was involved in the illegal withdrawal and misappropriation of over Rs37 billion from the contractors security deposit Head of an account, G-10113.

It claimed that its inquiry revealed that officials of the C&W department, Upper Kohistan, in connivance with officials of district accounts office, Upper Kohistan, and NBP’s local branch, had misappropriated funds from different projects through bogus withdrawal of funds from the national treasury in the name of several contractors, who had not executed any civil work.

Published in Dawn, August 26th, 2026