Senior officers, including the director-general, of the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) recently failed to satisfy the fact-finding inquiry committee regarding queries involving Rs1.94 billion scandal.
The second session of the fact-finding inquiry committee, constituted by the Punjab Chief Secretary to investigate the transfer of Rs1.94b from the RDA bank account to various individuals and companies concluded in Lahore. The third session is scheduled for July 2.
Director of Administration and Finance, Sohaib Ahmed Qazi, was designated as the official RDA representative before the inquiry panel.
The fact-finding committee, chaired by Mudassir Waheed Malik, Member of the Board of Revenue (Taxes), included Moazzam Supra (Managing Director, Punjab Government Servants Housing Foundation) and Madiha Tahir Shah (Additional Secretary, A&H) as members.
On June 25, RDA DG Kinza Murtaza, Director Admin & Finance Sohaib Ahmed Qazi, Deputy Director Iftikhar Janjua, and Assistant Director Waqar Asghar Raja appeared before the committee.
The committee reviewed banking records and various documents, and asked several questions. However, the officers failed to provide convincing explanations for key concerns.
They were asked why a CDR (Cash Deposit Receipt) system was adopted for bank transactions — allegedly to evade federal income tax, why financial transparency practices were overlooked for over a decade, why departmental audits over the past 10 years failed to uncover these massive fund transfers, and why the DG and Director Finance, being the authorised signatories, didn't regularly check the bank statements.
The RDA officials attempted to shift the blame onto a deceased Deputy Director of Finance, a move the committee notably flagged and questioned further.
In the upcoming third session on July 2, the committee has summoned two retired officials — Asif Mahmood Janjua, former Director Admin & Finance, and Khawaja Arshad Javed, former Assistant Director.
The current RDA representative, Sohaib Ahmed Qazi, was directed to present detailed records of the disputed bank transactions and relevant financial data.
It is noteworthy that parallel investigations into this financial scandal are also underway by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and the Punjab Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE).
The premier accountability watchdog has begun summoning both current and former RDA officials, as well as private individuals and account holders who received funds from the RDA account.
On the other hand, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has begun summoning both serving and retired officers of the RDA in connection with the alleged embezzlement in government funds.
All former directors of administration and finance who served over the past decade are being called in phases, with summons already issued.
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