The Punjab Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) has arrested seven officials, including a former managing director of the Faisalabad Waste Management Company (FWMC), in a case alleging financial irregularities that caused Rs. 1 billion in losses to the national exchequer under the Suthra Punjab Program.
The inquiry was launched on instructions of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz over a complaint alleging manipulation of digital records, fake attendance entries and embezzlement of public funds in Faisalabad’s sanitation operations. In light of the complaint Anti-Corruption Punjab Director General Sohail Zafar Chattha ordered an inquiry into the matter.
During the crackdown, the anti-corruption department arrested former FWMC CEO Muhammad Rauf, Manager Operations Abdullah Nazir Bajwa, District Manager Operations Hafiz Tayyab, contractor Rai Qamaruz Zaman, Manager Procurement Waqar Asghar and two other employees. They have since been shifted to Lahore for further investigation.
According to investigators, FWMC officials and representatives of Care Services Consortium colluded during sanitation operations in 2024 under the Suthra Punjab Program to inflate operational figures and misuse funds through fraudulent practices. Investigators claimed the suspects showed 2,317 waste containers in official records when they actually had 1,717 containers, while also falsely presenting loader rickshaws as mini dumpers in official documentation.
Additionally, the inquiry alleges 633 “ghost employees” whose salaries were drawn from the public treasury, as well as irregularities in payments to sanitation staff working in the field. It claims records showed 118 waste enclosures while the actual number was 33.
The suspects include an I.T. manager, a finance manager, a transport officer, and sanitary inspectors.