Misappropriation of funds: FIA charges revenue minister for scam
Makhdoom Jameeluz Zaman is also nominated in another graft case.
"It surfaced during the May 2013 audit that no construction or development work was done against the budget," FIA Assistant Director Zubair Ali Pechuho. PHOTO: FILE
HYDERABAD:
Provincial revenue minister Makhdoom Jameeluz Zaman has been nominated in an embezzlement case relating to a federal government-funded scheme in Matiari.
As many as 16 persons, including government officials and contractors, have been implicated in the case, according to FIA assistant director, Zubair Ali Pechuho. The development scheme involved the construction of CC flooring of roads in three talukas of Matiari district. A sum of Rs75 million was allocated and subsequently released for the scheme, which was approved by former Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf in October, 2012.
“It surfaced during the May 2013 audit of the scheme that no construction or development work was done against the budget and the money was embezzled,” said Pechuho.
He added that Zaman’s son, Makhdoom Mehboob Zaman, his personal assistant, Kashif Memon and Matiari’s former deputy commissioner, Shahid Zafar Laghari, are also nominated in the case. The other suspects include town municipal officers, Wali Mohammed Shah, Ghulam Mustafa Sanai and Imam Hyder Shah, local government assistant director Nooruddin Sanai and contractors, Waliullah Bhutto and Hizbullah Bhutto, among others.
The FIA official revealed that four suspects, including Kashif Memon, Nooruddin Sanai, Waliullah Bhutto and Ghulam Mustafa Sanai had already been arrested. The FIA also obtained their physical remand from a court in Matiari on Wednesday. “The FIA started the investigation in September. We gave considerable time to the suspects to explain their position to the FIA before arresting them,” Inspector Waseeullah Bhatti, who is also a complainant in the case, told The Express Tribune.
The provincial minister could not be contacted. Zaman is also nominated in another graft case pertaining to the Rs500 million Bhit Shah Beautification Project.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 14th,2013.
Provincial revenue minister Makhdoom Jameeluz Zaman has been nominated in an embezzlement case relating to a federal government-funded scheme in Matiari.
As many as 16 persons, including government officials and contractors, have been implicated in the case, according to FIA assistant director, Zubair Ali Pechuho. The development scheme involved the construction of CC flooring of roads in three talukas of Matiari district. A sum of Rs75 million was allocated and subsequently released for the scheme, which was approved by former Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf in October, 2012.
“It surfaced during the May 2013 audit of the scheme that no construction or development work was done against the budget and the money was embezzled,” said Pechuho.
He added that Zaman’s son, Makhdoom Mehboob Zaman, his personal assistant, Kashif Memon and Matiari’s former deputy commissioner, Shahid Zafar Laghari, are also nominated in the case. The other suspects include town municipal officers, Wali Mohammed Shah, Ghulam Mustafa Sanai and Imam Hyder Shah, local government assistant director Nooruddin Sanai and contractors, Waliullah Bhutto and Hizbullah Bhutto, among others.
The FIA official revealed that four suspects, including Kashif Memon, Nooruddin Sanai, Waliullah Bhutto and Ghulam Mustafa Sanai had already been arrested. The FIA also obtained their physical remand from a court in Matiari on Wednesday. “The FIA started the investigation in September. We gave considerable time to the suspects to explain their position to the FIA before arresting them,” Inspector Waseeullah Bhatti, who is also a complainant in the case, told The Express Tribune.
The provincial minister could not be contacted. Zaman is also nominated in another graft case pertaining to the Rs500 million Bhit Shah Beautification Project.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 14th,2013.