PESHAWAR: From Dumper Driver to Billionaire — that’s how investigators describe the astonishing rise of a former dumper driver now accused of being the central figure in a Rs40 billion financial scandal. The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has arrested the man, who allegedly built fake companies to siphon off billions of rupees from the government treasury.
According to NAB officials, the suspect, who once drove heavy vehicles for a living, became the director of a fake construction firm named M/S Mumtaz Khan Construction Company and allegedly siphoned off billions from the government treasury through forged documentation and fraudulent transactions.
The accused, identified as the owner of the bogus company, was apprehended by NAB Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from Abbottabad. He was later produced before the Accountability Court in Peshawar, which granted NAB an eight-day physical remand to further probe the massive financial fraud and recover evidence.
Preliminary investigations have revealed that the accused received over Rs3 billion directly from the government treasury, while more than Rs16 billion worth of transactions were made through his personal and company bank accounts.
Sources familiar with the probe disclosed that the funds were illicitly withdrawn from the contractors’ security deposit head of account (G-10113) — a reserve typically maintained to ensure the completion of government development projects.
Investigators believe the accused, in collusion with other unidentified individuals, used Mumtaz Khan Construction Company as a front to channel embezzled public funds into private accounts. The NAB spokesperson termed the arrest a “significant breakthrough,” hinting that more high-profile names are likely to emerge as the investigation unfolds.
Also Read: NAB to Auction 800 Kanals of Zulfi Bukhari’s Land in Al Qadir Trust Case
The case has raised serious questions about internal financial controls and auditing mechanisms within public sector departments, as the alleged scam spanned several years before being unearthed.
