FBR suspends three officials on corruption charges

The employees allegedly attested bogus tax returns.

ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has suspended three of its employees for allegedly attesting bogus income tax returns and wealth statements of dummy persons and entering them in tax record on back date.

Disciplinary proceedings have also been initiated against these officials – Deputy Commissioner Inland Revenue Naeem Hassan, Inspector Inland Revenue Seghal Hussain and Upper Division Clerk Nasir Ali Kamran – under Efficiency & Discipline Rules, 1973.

Directorate of Intelligence and Investigation, Inland Revenue Lahore was conducting investigations into purchase of properties at posh areas of Lahore by directors of a renowned Gujranwala-based group of companies through benami bank accounts maintained in the names of two of their employees.

A huge investment of Rs170 million was made from these benami bank accounts to purchase land in Lahore for a farm house, now worth Rs250 million.

The probe was underway when true beneficiaries of those benami bank accounts made an effort in collusion with the tax officials to fraudulently file income tax returns and wealth statements for the last six years in the name of the employees – to give those monetary transactions a legal cover.

The preliminary inquiry – conducted by the directorate to verify the genuineness of income tax returns purportedly filed at Lahore in the names of Hamayun and Khurram for tax years 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, & 2013 – revealed that the income tax returns and wealth statements were neither filed within due dates fixed for respective tax years nor any record of them was available.

During the course of preliminary inquiry, regarding alleged back-dated filing of income tax returns and wealth statements, it was established that FBR official Nasir Ali Kamran in connivance with Malik Sehgal Hussain fraudulently entered income tax returns and wealth statements after tampering data in violation of standard operating procedure.

Nasir Ali Kamran, in his written statement, confessed that abovementioned income tax returns and wealth statements were handed over to him by Malik Sehgal Hussain, and a lawyer for their entry in MAHASIL software against promise of a kickback of Rs20,000 to 25,000.

The FBR official Naeem Hassan in his statement said he attested the income tax returns and wealth statements on the insistence of Saigol Hussain.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 26^th, 2015.