ISLAMABAD, Sep 16 (APP): A special court on Tuesday rejected the pre-arrest bail pleas of 13 accused in the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) mega corruption case and ordered their immediate arrest.
Following the ruling, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) apprehended seven accused directly from the court premises.
The decision was announced by Special Judge Central Humayun Dilawar after a detailed hearing of bail petitions, filed by several APP officials and former executives. The case involves allegations of embezzling more than Rs1.24 billion through fake pension payments, provident fund withdrawals, and salary account manipulations.
Those whose bail applications were dismissed include: Furqan Rao, Moazzam Javed Khokhar, Arshad Majeed Chaudhry, Muhammad Ghawas, Azhar Farooq, Khurram Shehzad, Idrees Ahmed, Shahid Latif, Ghulam Murtaza, Tahir Ghumman, Sajid Ali Warraich, Imran Munir, and former APP Executive Director Adnan Akram Bajwa.
FIA teams took into custody seven of them — Imran Munir, Azhar Farooq, Tahir Ghumman, Khurram Shehzad, Idrees Chaudhry, Sajid Ali Warraich, and Ghawas Khan — from the courtroom. However, five others, including Furqan Rao, Moazzam Javed Khokhar, Arshad Majeed Chaudhry, Shahid Latif, and Adnan Bajwa, managed to flee before their arrest.
Meanwhile, two accused including Ejaz Maqbool and Saqib Kaleem were granted bail by the court.
During the hearing, the FIA informed the court that the case was registered after a transparent inquiry which uncovered strong documentary evidence against the accused. Investigators claimed that huge sums were transferred illegally into personal accounts of APP employees and officials, in addition to the misuse of salary and pension accounts.
FIA Assistant Director (Legal) Khushnood Bhatti informed the court that several accused were drawing both salaries and pensions simultaneously. He explained that names were added to pension lists without authorization, and when pensions were released, the extra amounts were diverted into private accounts.
Provident fund amounts, deducted from employees’ salaries, were also misappropriated. Instead of being safeguarded in institutional accounts, funds were transferred into a NBP branch at a 5.Star hotel and later withdrawn through cheques or moved into other accounts.
Khushnood Bhatti said that Arshad Majeed Chaudhry, who served as DDO from 2021 to 2024, allegedly transferred Rs 661 million into his personal account, while cheques worth Rs 180 million and Rs 240 million were also cashed under his signatures.
During the hearing, the FIA informed the court that Azhar Farooq, a cashier, was accused of personally withdrawing large sums from banks and transferring Rs 800 million into his personal account.
While, Adnan Akram Bajwa, a former Executive Director of APP, allegedly signed vouchers and cheques illegally, enabling fraudulent payments.
Similarly, Muhammad Ghawas, also an ED at one stage, was accused of signing a cheque worth Rs 70 million for salaries when the actual wage bill was only Rs 30 million, diverting Rs 40 million unlawfully.
Meanwhile, Idrees Chaudhry and Tahir Ghumman, both audit in-charges, were blamed for failing to report discrepancies, including the issuance of Rs 9 million as “salary” to one employee without proper audit.
FIA officials informed the court that Imran Munir, in-charge of the Provident Fund section, allegedly deposited Rs 500 million into a 5.Star hotel NBP branch account and later withdrew the amount using three cheques. Investigators claimed cheques worth Rs2.1 billion were encashed from the same branch, with Rs 284 million transferred without proper authorization.
Furthermore, Ejaz Maqbool allegedly received cheques in the name of the then-Managing Director without approval, while Saqib Kaleem was found to have received Rs 61,000 from pension accounts.
Lawyers representing the accused attempted to challenge FIA’s claims. Counsel for Khurram Shehzad read out the FIR in court, stating that no money was transferred into his client’s account and he never signed any documents.
The lawyer for Ghulam Murtaza argued that his client had suffered a road accident and submitted medical reports, seeking exemption from appearance. Judge Humayun Dilawar, after reviewing the medical certificate, remarked that the injury seemed minor and insisted that the accused must appear in person or face cancellation of bail.
When asked about the absence of representation for Furqan Rao, the accused himself informed the court that his lawyer was occupied in High Court. The judge expressed displeasure, warning that bail could not be sustained without proper legal representation.
For Moazzam Javed Khokhar, a junior lawyer appeared and requested adjournment, citing the unavailability of the lead counsel. The judge refused, cautioning that if lawyers continued to delay, bail would outrightly be rejected .
FIA investigators, including Muhammad Junaid, stressed that embezzlement had been proven through audits, account records, and cheque verifications. They told the court that recovery of funds required immediate custody of the accused, as many continued to benefit from the diverted money.
The APP administration itself, represented by advocates Khurram Baig, Hasnain Haider Thaheem, and Ruhail Irshad Rana, supported FIA’s request. Rana argued that under Section 34, all accused should be treated equally liable. He said the fraud involved collective responsibility and that bail should be denied to prevent further delays.
After hearing arguments from both sides, Judge Humayun Dilawar rejected the pre-arrest bail applications of 13 accused. The order listed: Furqan Rao, Moazzam Javed Khokhar, Arshad Majid Chaudhry, Muhammad Ghawas, Azhar Farooq, Khurram Shehzad, Idrees Ahmed, Shahid Latif, Ghulam Murtaza, Tahir Ghumman, Sajid Ali Warraich, Imran Munir, and former ED Adnan Bajwa.
The FIA immediately detained seven accused — Imran Munir, Azhar Farooq, Tahir Ghumman, Khurram Shehzad, Idrees Chaudhry, Sajid Warraich, and Ghawas Khan — from the courtroom. In a dramatic turn, five others, including senior figures like Bajwa and Rao, fled the premises before they could be arrested.
The case commenced when the APP administration itself filed a complaint with FIA, alleging embezzlement of Rs1.24 billion. Following the complaint, the FIA initiated an inquiry and registered a case against multiple officials of the national news agency.