PESHAWAR: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has recovered an additional Rs200 million from the main suspect in the Rs40 billion Kohistan financial scandal, one of the largest corruption cases in the bureau’s history.
According to sources, a NAB team carried out a raid at the Abbottabad residence of the prime accused, Qaiser Iqbal — a clerk in the Communication and Works Department — and recovered Rs100 million on the indication of his wife, who is also in custody. Another Rs100 million was recovered from a separate location.
With the latest recovery, the total amount retrieved by NAB in the case has exceeded Rs2 billion, which officials described as the agency’s highest-ever cash recovery in a single case.
Iqbal and his wife were arrested earlier in October and produced before the court on October 18. During court proceedings, NAB investigators informed the judge that the female suspect, acting in collaboration with her husband and several benamidars, withdrew large sums from multiple bank accounts and invested in assets far beyond the family’s declared income.
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Investigators said the couple had been uncooperative, provided misleading statements, and concealed information about their properties, which are estimated at more than Rs14 billion.
The inquiry revealed that officials of the Communication and Works Department in Upper Kohistan, in collusion with personnel from the district accounts office and a local branch of the National Bank of Pakistan, embezzled billions of rupees from development project funds. The funds were allegedly withdrawn fraudulently in the names of contractors who had not carried out any actual construction work.
NAB officials said the accused used falsified documentation to divert funds from government treasuries into private accounts. The scam reportedly involved government officials, bank employees, and several private contractors.
Sources said that NAB had so far recovered more than Rs2 billion in the case, the highest cash recovery in its history.https://t.co/BCemSCnUxq
— Dawn.com (@dawn_com) October 31, 2025
So far, accountability courts have approved NAB’s requests to freeze dozens of assets — including luxury residences, commercial properties, vehicles, and foreign currency holdings — belonging to various suspects. A total of 22 individuals have been arrested in connection with the case to date.
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