Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has uncovered a large-scale corruption scheme inside the Federal Treasury Office (FTO) Islamabad, exposing years of alleged manipulation, fake licensing, and systematic financial fraud involving government officials and private stamp vendors.
According to FIA officials, the scam centered on the illegal issuance of stamp papers and the alleged failure to deposit stamp-paper fees, court fees, and foreign bill revenues into the national exchequer. Investigators say fake or bogus licenses were used to secure stamp papers through fraudulent means, enabling revenue to be siphoned off instead of being deposited in the treasury.
The FIA Anti-Corruption Circle Islamabad has registered a case against 71 officials and staff members of the FTO, along with stamp vendors believed to be involved. Those nominated include senior auditor Adil Maqbool and multiple treasury personnel. The case has been filed under sections 109, 409, 420, 467, 471 of the Pakistan Penal Code and section 5(2)47 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947.
A late-night operation led by Deputy Director FIA Anti-Corruption Circle Afzal Khan Niazi resulted in the arrest of 20 suspects, while further raids are underway to apprehend the remaining accused.
FIA officials revealed that the suspects allegedly submitted bogus stamp-vendor licenses at the FTO and obtained stamp papers using 2,638 fake TR-32 challans, causing a financial loss exceeding Rs 296.49 million to the national treasury.
Sources say the FIR was lodged after inquiry No. 368/2025 — linked to police case No. 527/2025 from Aabpara Police Station — confirmed evidence of systematic malpractice. FIA Islamabad Zone Director Shehzad Nadeem Bukhari approved the registration of the case following completion of the inquiry.
The FIR notes that the full extent of the financial loss will be determined after a 10-year forensic audit of the treasury’s records. The roles of several officials, including ADC(R) Imtiaz Janjua, Superintendent Muhammad Arshad, and others from the FTO and DRA branches, will be evaluated during investigation.
The probe is being carried out under the supervision of Deputy Director Afzal Khan Niazi, with SHO Shams Khan Gondal and his team leading field operations.
Sources described the scam as one of the most extensive financial irregularities detected within Islamabad’s treasury system in recent years, with investigators now working to trace money flows, identify additional accomplices, and recover the missing public funds.
