PESHAWAR: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Wednesday claimed the arrest of ex-director general (DG) of Fata Disaster Management Authority (FDMA), Arshad Khan, and Irfanullah Khan, ex-assistant director FDMA over charges of misuse of authority and embezzlement in compensation payments according to a press release.
Arshad Khan was posted as Additional Secretary Home and Tribal Affairs Department with the provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The two arrested men are allegedly involved in embezzlement of funds in Housing Uniform Assistance Subsidy Project (HUASP) for Bajaur Agency and are accused of looting and embezzling more than Rs300 million fraudulently.
Under the HUASP, the Government of Pakistan, with the assistance of USAID paid compensation to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) whose houses had been damaged during Operation Sherdil conducted against insurgents in Bajaur tribal agency in 2008.
Under a planned fund disbursement, Rs400,000 were paid to each individual whose house had been completely damaged, while Rs160,000 were paid to owners of the partially damaged houses.
Total payment of almost Rs2.5 billion was made under the project to almost 10,000 affectees of Bajaur Agency.
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According to the press release, during the course of the inquiry it was revealed that the accused Arshad Khan, being Director General FDMA at the time, in connivance with Assistant Director Irfanullah Khan and others managed to embezzle millions of rupees in compensation payment meant for affectees of terrorism after the military operation in Bajaur Agency.
The accused Irfanullah Khan in connivance with other officials prepared hundreds of counterfeit survey forms of fake or ineligible affectees and included the same in the payment lists in order to embezzle public money.
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Arshad Khan illegally granted approval to ghost affectees and misled the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) and the Provincial Reconstruction Rehabilitation and Settlement Authority (PaRRSA).
Arshad Khan was already in judicial custody, following his earlier arrest by NAB Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for embezzling Rs60 million in the name of ghost affectees of Mohmand Agency, a major portion of which has already been recovered.
The accused will be produced before the accountability court in Peshawar for obtaining of their physical remand.