NAB initiates inquiry into billions in alleged Sindh Solar Project Corruption

KARACHI: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has taken notice of alleged corruption in the Sindh Solar Energy Project (SSEP) and initiated an inquiry against officers involved in the case, ARY News reported.

NAB has sent a formal letter to Sindh Chief Secretary Asif Hyder, seeking all documents related to the alleged corruption within the SSEP.

In the letter, the anti-corruption watchdog stated that the project is marred by allegations of billions of rupees in embezzlement, suggesting that funds were misappropriated.

The inquiry falls under NAB’s primary jurisdiction; consequently, the bureau has instructed the Cheif Secretary to stop provincial Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) to its any parallel proceedings on the matter.

Concerns have been raised regarding significant losses to the national exchequer. In addition to the Chief Secretary, NAB has also dispatched a letter to the Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister of Sindh.

A key point of the investigation involves the procurement of equipment. It is alleged that fans were purchased locally in Pakistan but documented as being imported from abroad. NAB further alleges that corruption amounting to billions of rupees took place within a project involving 200,000 solar units.

The Project was initiated by Department of Energy Sindh while it is underway in the province on the World Bank loan of 100 million dollars.