Peshawar BRT scandal: court freezes 75 bank accounts of contractors

PESHAWAR: An accountability court in Peshawar has frozen 75 bank accounts of the contractors involved in the Peshawar BRT scandal.

Additionally, the court has ordered the sale of two commercial plots owned by the contractors.

According to NAB lawyers, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) is currently investigating the Peshawar BRT scandal.

The court was told that the NAB director-general has issued orders to freeze the bank accounts of the contractors and also to sell two residential plots.

The lawyers argued that NAB did not have the authority to freeze the assets of the contractors; however, the court has accepted NAB’s request to freeze the accounts.

Read more: Financial woes: fare hike proposed for BRT Peshawar

Despite the completion of the Peshawar BRT project, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government continues to provide more than Rs3 billion annually in subsidies to BRT.

Last year, in June 2023, the fare for BRT was increased by Rs5.

The Peshawar Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) scandal involves allegations of corruption related to the project in Peshawar.

The NAB has launched an investigation into alleged corruption in the Peshawar BRT project.

According to an audit report, irregularities worth billions of rupees had been committed in the BRT project. It said that over Rs47 billion were spent without proper approval from the law department. The report highlighted various financial and administrative discrepancies.

The audit report indicated that approximately Rs50 billion were embezzled during the execution of the project. These irregularities include unauthorized payments, unaccounted dues to contractors, and questionable expenses.

In the past, the Supreme Court set aside a Peshawar High Court (PHC) judgment that directed NAB to investigate the Peshawar BRT project. The court found legal flaws in the high court’s order regarding NAB’s investigation.

The scandal has raised concerns about transparency, financial mismanagement, and accountability in the implementation of the BRT project.