PESHAWAR: An accountability court here on Saturday approved a Rs409.68 million plea bargain of a former bank officer arrested by the National Accountability Bureau in a high-profile case involving the alleged embezzlement of over Rs37 billion cash in the Upper Kohistan district accounts office.

Judge Kalim Arshad Khan declared that accused Hareeq Shah, a former branch operation officer at Askari Commercial Bank’s Dassu Branch (Upper Kohistan), should be released if his custody was not required in any other case.

He pronounced that the accused was discharged from his liability as he had voluntarily surrendered the crime proceeds in the form of payment.

The judge ruled that the accused should be deemed to have been convicted for the offence under Section 9(a) of National Accountability Ordinance (NAO), 1999, and also stood disqualified as provided under Section 15 of the ordinance.

Orders his release if custody not required in any other case

The plea bargain application of the accused was accepted by the chairman of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Aug 12, 2026, and the matter was referred to the accountability court for final approval.

Accused Hareeq Shah and another accused, Shafiq Ali, were summoned from the Peshawar Central Prison for recording their statements.

NAB’s senior investigation officer Inayatullah Khan also recorded his statement, whereas special prosecutors Ali Jan, Manzoor Alam and Muhammad Faheem appeared for NAB, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The judge pronounced that the accused had conceded that his plea bargain agreement with the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had his complete consent and according to his free will and not under any duress, coercion or pressure.

The court pointed out that the plea bargain agreement/ affidavit reflected that the accused had voluntarily surrendered/ paid the liability against him in the manner including: Rs50 million surrendered to NAB on May 13, 2025; Rs12.07 million through a pay order in favour of the NAB chairman on July 28, 2026; and, Rs347.61 million adjusted from the amount recovered on the pointation of co-accused Shafiq Ali from his residence on May 10, 2025.

Accused Hareeq Shah stated that he had voluntarily, without any duress and with full understanding of the consequences, along with co-accused Shafiq Ali, submitted an application on May 7, 2026 for reconciliation of accounts and for entering into a plea bargain with the NAB.

He stated that in pursuance of the plea bargain agreement, he had surrendered/ paid the determined liability amounting to Rs409.68 million.

Co-accused Shafiq Ali, who is owner of a construction company, also conceded in his statement that he had used a bank account of accused Hareeq Shah for his own financial transactions and all the amounts transferred to the said account were withdrawn by him and kept at his residence.

He admitted that an amount of Rs355 million was kept at his residence by him which was recovered by the NAB team on his pointation. He added that he had no objection if an amount of Rs347.61 million out of Rs355 million was adjusted towards the liability of the accused Hareeq Shah.

IO Inayatullah Khan said that the case pertains to illegal withdrawal and misappropriation of government funds from the public exchequer in connivance with other co-accused, an offence punishable under Section 9(a) of the NAO.

He said that the present accused served as Branch Operations Officer (OG-II) at Askari Commercial Bank, Dassu Branch, Kohistan Upper from Jan 1, 2019, to Sep 12, 2025.

Mr Khan said that during the said period the accused operated a fake bank account in the name of one Aseel Khan and derived illegal gains.

He claimed the accused received proceeds of crime in a bank account titled Shahdad & Brothers and also in the account of his father, Haji Badshah.

The IO said that in connivance with co-accused Shafiq Ali, the accused utilised his own account at a private bank in Dassu and a benami account in the name of his step-brother Asmat Ullah and that of his maternal nephew Liqab Shah.

The special prosecutors produced original plea bargain agreement/ affidavit, saying the accused has entered into the plea bargain with the bureau of his own free will and consent. Until now, the NAB KP has arrested around 40 accused in the instant case.

The NAB has claimed that it had received a source report on April 8, 2025, alleging massive financial scam in Upper Kohistan, involving the illegal withdrawal and misappropriation of over Rs37 billion from the Contractor’s Security Deposit head of Account G-10113.

It said that the allegations implicated a network of government officials, banks personnel and private contractors in a meticulously orchestrated conspiracy that exploited the systemic vulnerabilities and violated the Accounting Policies and Procedures Manual.

Published in Dawn, August 30th, 2026