Fleecing the people: Income tax official arrested for fraud

Accused allegedly prepared bogus tax refund certificates by collecting signed cheques from earthquake affectees.

PESHAWAR: NAB has arrested Asif Haider Orakzai, a grade-19 officer of the Income Tax Department from Peshawar presently posted as Commissioner Income Tax Abbottabad, over his alleged involvement in fake income tax refund which resulted in a loss of Rs160 million to the exchequer. Federal Board of Revenue officials Muhammad Siddique and Muhammad Haroon were also arrested in the same case. The accused persons, on the pretext of assistance to the affectees of the 2005 earthquake, allegedly prepared bogus income tax refund certificates by collecting signed cheques from earthquake affectees during 2008 to 2009 and embezzled a staggering sum of R160 million. NAB is interrogating the accused persons. They will be produced before an accountability court in Peshawar on Tuesday for obtaining their physical remand.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 25^th, 2014.