HYDERABAD: Director General (Finance & Cooperation) of the Agriculture Department, Imdad Memon, a BS-20 officer, and six other co-accused were arrested on Tuesday after the Sindh High Court (SHC) denied confirmation of their pre-arrest bail.
The accused appeared before an SHC division bench comprising Justice Amjad Ali Sahito and Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro, seeking confirmation of their interim bail, but the bench revoked the bail order. Following the court’s decision, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) detained the accused on-site.
The NAB has filed a reference alleging misappropriation of Rs1.2 billion intended for purchasing bulldozer spare parts. NAB Prosecutor Jangu Khan confirmed the arrests of DG Imdad Memon, contractors Anoop Kumar, Shafi Mohammad, and Mohammad Iqbal; Hyderabad District Accounts Office official Nazeer Bhutto; and bank cashiers Gul Mohammad and Qadir Bux immediately after the bench’s short order was issued.
The court remanded the accused to Nara Jail, dismissing their plea for pre-arrest bail, with detailed reasoning to follow.
The NAB reference claims that Rs1.2 billion was misappropriated through fake vouchers issued to dummy companies. During the October 24 hearing, pre-arrest bail was granted, but recent findings have prompted further action.
NAB’s investigation revealed that during Memon’s tenure as director in the Agricultural Engineering and Water Management (AEWM) department, he allegedly approved fraudulent refund bills totaling Rs250 million for private contractors. These funds, misappropriated with the help of Hyderabad District Accounts Office officials, were reportedly sourced from pension funds. Evidence indicates that a significant portion was deposited in the AEWM’s official account, with withdrawals made through cheques signed by Memon.
According to NAB, a money trail shows payments issued to accounts of fictitious companies, funneled back into the agriculture department’s account, and then withdrawn. NAB also found that an agriculture department account in a private bank managed credit transactions amounting to Rs1.2 billion, with records showing millions transferred from government funds into accounts of dummy companies and private contractors involved in the alleged scheme.
