Kohistan mega scandal: accountability court approves Rs4bn plea bargain of driver

PESHAWAR: In the Kohistan mega corruption scandal worth Rs40 billion, a dumper driver named Mumtaz has agreed to return Rs4 billion to the national treasury under a plea bargain.

Administrative Judge Zafar Khan heard the plea bargain applications of Mumtaz and other accused on Wednesday. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa NAB Deputy Prosecutor General Muhammad Ali appeared in court and briefed the judge on the case details.

NAB officials said Mumtaz was directly involved in the scandal and investigations revealed suspicious transactions exceeding Rs4 billion in his bank accounts.

The accused voluntarily submitted a plea bargain request to return the funds, which the court approved after hearing NAB’s arguments.

NAB officials said the Rs4 billion recovery represents only a portion of the overall scandal.

So far, more than 36 suspects have been arrested and assets worth approximately Rs30 billion have been seized with several bank accounts frozen.

The NAB said that no leniency would be shown to any accused, and all proceedings will continue in accordance with the law.

The NAB said that additional plea bargain requests are under consideration and will be decided based on evidence.

The Kohistan scandal is among the largest financial scandals in recent years.

According to the NAB, over 40 individuals, including government officials, contractors, and bank employees, were involved in withdrawing Rs40 billion through fake companies and forged documents.

Earlier, the NAB had turned down the plea bargain of the prime suspect Muhammad Ayub. Sources said that earlier 10 of the arrested suspects had submitted applications for the plea bargain.

Among those seeking a plea bargain are Qaiser Iqbal and his wife, whose bank accounts were found to contain Rs10 billion, NAB sources said.

The anti-corruption watchdog has so far recovered over Rs5 billion in connection with the Kohistan scandal.