Kohistan Mega Corruption Scam

Scale of the Alleged Fraud

• It’s estimated that ~Rs 40 billion (Pakistani rupees) was misappropriated.


• The money was allegedly siphoned from a provincial treasury account under the head "Security and Deposit Works KP-10113."


• According to some preliminary findings, corruption in Upper Kohistan alone may amount to Rs 29 billion.

Mechanism of the Scam

• Fake or forged cheques are central to the accusations: the AG (Accountant General) office claims there are 1,293 cheques related to the case that are “missing” from their official records.


• These cheques were allegedly used to pay for non-existent or bogus development projects.


• There’s also mention of shell companies / bogus firms being used ("fake construction firms") to facilitate the fraud.


• Collusion among different actors: contracts, government officials (especially in the C&W department, i.e. Communication & Works), bankers, and accounts officers are all allegedly involved.

Key Players / Accused

• Qaiser Iqbal, the alleged “mastermind”: he was serving as a head clerk in the C&W Department in Upper Kohistan.


• Officials arrested: According to AAJ News, among those arrested are a district account officer, an auditor, contractors, and a former bank manager.


• Bank officials: Some bankers are also implicated, suggesting that the fraud was not just internal to the government departments.

Investigations & Accountability

• The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) is leading the investigation.


• Several arrests: As of October 2025, at least 26 people have been arrested in relation to this scam.


• Asset recovery: According to NAB, they have frozen or seized a number of assets - bank accounts, cash, property, and vehicles.


• The Accountant General’s Office of K-P has recommended disciplinary action against 10 officials from the Finance Department.


• 19 officials have reportedly been suspended across various departments (Finance Dept, C&W Dept, AG Office).


• The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has raised "serious concerns" and demanded full records.

Financial Irregularities

• Apart from fake cheques, there are "suspicious" bank accounts: AG’s office has identified 52 questionable accounts.


• A sum of Rs 3.47 billion has been flagged as particularly suspicious in one of the AG’s letters.


• According to some reports, there were unusual transfers — for instance, a huge amount moved to a dumper driver’s account (per Wikipedia summary).

Plea Bargain

• According to AAJ News, at least one suspect (named “Ayub” in their report) has approached NAB for a plea bargain, offering to return a large sum (reportedly ~Rs 3.45 billion) in installments.


• The investigation is still ongoing, and more people may be implicated.

Significance & Impact

• It is being called the biggest financial scandal in K-P province’s history by some reports.


• Raises serious questions about financial oversight in the provincial government, especially in how "deposit works" accounts are handled.


• The scale of the scam suggests systemic issues: collusion across departments, weak internal controls, and possibly bank complicity.