FIA books industrial executives, former Fesco chiefs over alleged Rs12 billion power fraud

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has registered a case against the chief executive and five directors of two local industrial companies and four former Faisalabad Electric Supply Company chief executives over alleged fraudulent electricity transactions that caused an estimated Rs12 billion loss to the national exchequer, The News reported. 

The FIA also arrested one of the company directors at an airport in Lahore.

According to the report, former Fesco chief executive officers Khurshid Alam and Ahmad Saeed Khan have also been arrested, according to the agency. A local court granted the FIA their five-day physical remand for further investigation.

The remaining accused have been placed on the Exit Control List pending completion of the inquiry.

The case was registered as FIR No. 35/2026 at the FIA Composite Circle Faisalabad under Section 5(2)/47 of the Prevention of Corruption Act and Sections 34, 109, 409, 419, 420, 467, 468 and 471 of the Pakistan Penal Code.

The FIR names the chief executive and five directors of the two industrial companies, along with former Fesco chief executives Ahmad Saeed Akhtar, Tanveer Safdar Cheema, Khurshid Alam and Rashid Aslam.

Investigators alleged that the accused colluded between 2007 and 2015 to manipulate electricity purchase and sale arrangements, securing unlawful financial benefits for the companies at the expense of the public treasury.

According to the FIA, one company sold electricity to Fesco at rates above those approved by the Central Power Purchasing Agency, while both companies received electricity from Fesco as bulk power consumers at subsidised rates.

The agency further alleged that one company unlawfully benefited from concessional electricity tariffs.

The other company allegedly obtained subsidised natural gas from Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited by presenting itself as a captive power plant, while simultaneously representing itself before Nepra as a small power producer using allegedly misleading documents.