ISLAMABAD, Sep 20 (APP): The court on Saturday handed over seven accused in the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) mega corruption case, involving alleged embezzlement of Rs 1.2 billion, to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on a three-day physical remand.

The order was given by Civil Judge/ Judicial Magistrate Ahmad Shehzad Gondal, after hearing detailed arguments from the FIA investigation team and lawyers representing the national news agency.

During the hearing, FIA officials presented the accused — Ghawas Khan, Idrees Chaudhry, Imran Munir, Tahir Ghumman, Sajid Ali Warraich, Azhar Farooq, and Khurram Shehzad before the court. The investigation officer, Muhammad Junaid, informed the judge that the suspects had allegedly been involved in serious financial irregularities.

He said the accused carried out illegal transactions worth millions of rupees through APP accounts, including those linked with the Holiday Inn.

According to the FIA, even the Provident Fund (PF), a scheme meant to safeguard employees’ savings — was withdrawn without approval from the competent authority and transferred into different accounts.

The FIA argued that custodial interrogation was still required to recover the missing records, trace illegal financial trails, and identify other individuals involved. It requested the court to approve 11 days of physical remand for the seven accused.

On behalf of APP, Advocates Rohail Asghar and Hasnain Haider Thaheem opposed the defense and presented their version. They alleged that the accused prepared fake vouchers to mislead auditors, which enabled them to withdraw approximately Rs 1 billion unlawfully.

Advocate Thaheem told the court that APP employs about 850 workers, whose total monthly salaries amount to Rs 45 million. However, in one particular month, the accused transferred Rs 115 million under the head of salaries. He said this excess amount of Rs 70 million was a clear indication of deliberate mismanagement.

The lawyer further alleged that the accused initially transferred the funds into a single account and later distributed the amounts among themselves.

The defense counsel, however, contested these claims. Advocate Kashif Gorsi, representing accused Idrees Chaudhry, argued that his client was not among the main beneficiaries. He told the court that three individuals received the bulk of the money, with Rs 150 million transferred to the accounts of Arshad Majeed Chaudhry, Azhar Farooq and Ghulam Murtaza.

Separately, during the hearing, the lawyer of accused Tahir Ghumman told the court that the real beneficiaries were Arshad Majeed Chaudhry, Azhar Farooq and Sajid Warraich. He insisted that his client had no role in the direct transfer of funds.

After hearing the arguments, the judge extended the physical remand of the seven accused for another three days, instead of the 11 days requested by the FIA. The suspects were again handed over to the investigation agency for further questioning.

This was the second consecutive extension of their remand, as the same accused had been handed to FIA on a three-day remand in the previous hearing as well.

The mega corruption case at APP surfaced after complaints of financial irregularities and alleged embezzlement of Rs 1.2 billion were lodged. The FIA registered a case against 16 suspects, including officers and staff members of the state-run news agency.

During the initial stages of investigation, FIA teams uncovered key evidence including fake vouchers, unauthorized bank transactions and misuse of institutional accounts.

The seven accused will remain in FIA custody until the next hearing.