The National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has arrested the main accused in the Rs40 billion Kohistan corruption scandal, taking Qaiser Iqbal and his wife into custody soon after their discharge from the Abbottabad Medical Complex on October 18, 2025.Â
According to a report by The News, NAB identified Qaiser Iqbal — a former clerk and later head clerk at the C&W Department in Upper Kohistan — as the mastermind behind the scam. He allegedly orchestrated the fraudulent withdrawals between 2013 and 2025 by creating falsified documents and facilitating illegal fund transfers.
During a search of his residence, NAB recovered gold, foreign currency, luxury vehicles, property documents, and original treasury cheque records, indicating the scale of the corruption network.
Sources said billions were transferred into the accounts of Qaiser’s wife and a contractor named Mumtaz, while several senior officials are suspected of enabling or ignoring the fraud over the years.
Both Qaiser Iqbal and his wife were produced before an accountability court in Peshawar, which granted a seven-day physical remand for Qaiser and a four-day remand for his wife.Â
The case involves the illegal withdrawal of more than Rs40 billion from the government treasury under Head of Account G-10113. Officials from the Communication and Works (C&W) Department, District Accounts Office (DAO), Accountant General (AG) Office, and the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) are accused of conspiring with private contractors in Upper Kohistan to embezzle funds meant for development projects.
As per reports, investigators found that government money was siphoned off through fake bills, fabricated schedules, and bogus cheques prepared and processed by officials in collusion with contractors.Â
Several suspects, including government employees, bankers, and contractors, have already been arrested, while properties, gold, cash, foreign currency, and luxury vehicles worth billions of rupees have been seized.
NAB officials said further arrests are likely as investigations into the money trail and property ownership continue.
