Govt suffers Rs27 billion loss in wheat scandal: preliminary assessment report

ISLAMABAD: According to the information recived by the Hum News Investigation Team (HIT) into the wheat scandal, Pakistan has incurred a loss of Rs27 billion.

According to HIT, the recent wheat crisis emerged due to mismanagement of the new wheat crop, the alleged collusion between exporters, traders, and middlemen, and the corruption of government officials.

At the time when wheat was imported into the country, there were already 8 million metric tons of wheat reserves available.

This revelation has come to light in the review reports presented to the Prime Minister’s Office by two different inquiry committees. These reports were separately submitted by Cabinet Division Secretary Kamran Afzal and retired Justice Mian Mushtaq.

According to the documents, a total of 12 million metric tons of wheat was imported over the past four years. In the last five months, 61 private exporters imported 3.5 million tons of wheat, which is valued at approximately $1.1 billion in the market. Documents obtained by HIT also prove that the caretaker government was provided with incorrect figures and details regarding the country’s wheat reserves.

The documents further reveal that over the past three years, 200,000 tons of wheat were smuggled into Afghanistan. Two years ago, 2 million metric tons of expensive wheat were purchased from Russia, resulting in a loss of $31 million to the national treasury. Additionally, extra transport charges amounting to $240 million were paid on the wheat purchased in this deal.

According to the documents, 2,100 metric tons of wheat valued at Rs170 million went missing in Buner. Additionally, 189 tons of wheat disappeared from government warehouses in Dera Ismail Khan. Four flour mills in Swabi received an extra quota of 190 tons of wheat. Due to the improper transfer of wheat within Khyber Pakhtunkhwa alone, a loss of Rs130 million was incurred.

Investigations by Hum Investigates revealed that wheat worth Rs3.6 billion was stolen across 12 districts in the country. In Karachi, Khairpur, and Matiari alone, delays in wheat distribution caused losses exceeding Rs1 billion. Faulty contracts led to an additional loss of Rs2 billion. In Matiari, 85 metric tons of wheat were allocated to flour mills that were completely non-operational. Moreover, an additional payment to the consortium bank resulted in a loss of Rs2.73 billion.

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The investigations by HIT indicate that the recent wheat crisis is a shocking example of theft, dishonesty, and incompetence.