Shady deals: Another case registered against ex-LESCO chief

Official booked for allegedly buying transformers on higher rates.

LAHORE: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has registered another case against the former Lahore Electric Supply Company (Lesco) head on charges of causing losses worth Rs30.71 million to the public exchequer.

Official sources told The Express Tribune that the losses were caused when Arshad Rafiq, the former Lesco chief executive officer (CEO), bought transformers on higher rates.

FIA’s Anti-Corruption Circle Police Station registered the first information report (FIR) against Rafiq under provisions of the Pakistan Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act.

According to the FIR, Lesco officials opened two tenders on March 6, 2014 for buying 430 transformers of 100-kilovolt ampere (KWA) and 450 of 200-KVA. Their prices were quoted to be Rs247,500 and Rs384,900 per transformer, respectively.

The matter was presented before the 149th meeting of the Lesco board of directors (BOD) on April 1, 2014.

“Rafiq and his associates unlawfully bypassed the procedure, presented a misleading picture to the BOD, and got the transformers’ procurement approved, knowing that the prices had fallen sharply due to competition among the manufacturers,” the FIR stated.

The same transformers were purchased by other distribution companies for Rs225,000 and Rs347,000, respectively.

On April 22, Lesco purchased another 500 transformers of 200 KVA capacity for Rs347,000 each, just 21 days after the first deal with the same manufacturer. The company also purchased 494 transformers of 100 KVA.

“In this way, Rafiq and other perpetrators caused a loss of Rs30.71 million to the exchequer by misusing authority,” the FIR stated. It said that role of other officials in the deal would be determined during the investigation.

Punjab FIA Director Dr Usman Anwar told The Express Tribune that the former Lesco CEO was the principal accused in the case because he had misled the BOD. He said senior Lesco officials, including the chief financial officer and the technical director, had objected to the deals at the time. “However, the accused actively pursued the deal and presented it before the BOD. He succeeded in getting it approved on higher prices,” Anwar said.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 30^th, 2014.