The Director General (Finance & Cooperation) of Sindh’s Agriculture Department, Imdad Memon, a BS-20 officer, along with six other accused, was arrested by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Tuesday after the Sindh High Court (SHC) dismissed their pre-arrest bail plea.
The SHC’s division bench, comprising Justice Amjad Ali Sahito and Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro, recalled the interim bail order granted earlier, leading to the arrest of the accused on the court premises. The case involves a NAB reference on the alleged misappropriation of Rs1.2 billion designated for bulldozer spare parts procurement.
Among those detained are contractors Anoop Kumar, Shafi Mohammad, Mohammad Iqbal, Hyderabad District Accounts Office official Nazeer Bhutto, and bank cashiers Gul Mohammad and Qadir Bux. Following the court’s decision, they were escorted to Nara jail.
According to NAB Prosecutor Jangu Khan, the investigation revealed that funds were siphoned through fake vouchers linked to dummy companies. A portion of the funds, amounting to approximately Rs250 million, was allegedly diverted by Memon from the Agriculture Department’s pension funds, with substantial sums transferred to his personal accounts from contractors’ accounts.
The NAB’s findings indicate that funds were credited to accounts of dummy companies and then redirected to the agriculture department’s accounts before withdrawal. This high-profile case includes a total of 15 accused, with NAB asserting that significant amounts from government funds benefited private contractors and were linked to suspicious transactions in a private bank account tied to the Agriculture Department.
The SHC bench dismissed the pre-arrest bail, with detailed reasons to be recorded later. The case highlights concerns regarding financial transparency in government departments as NAB continues its investigation.
