ISLAMABAD, Oct 18: An audit of the Ministry of Communications for the 2022–23 financial year has uncovered financial irregularities exceeding Rs222 billion, including questionable recruitment, procurement losses, unauthorised banking arrangements and cases involving fraud and theft.
The audit report identified 40 cases of fraud, theft and robbery involving Rs48.8 million, while four cases related to recruitment accounted for irregularities worth Rs2.73 billion.
Among the findings were 4,252 appointments made in Pakistan Postal Services in grades 1 to 15 during the caretaker government’s tenure. Auditors also flagged 314 appointments allegedly made on political grounds in violation of recruitment rules.
The report identified five procurement cases that caused losses exceeding Rs3.26 billion to the national exchequer.
It further highlighted losses of Rs20.85 billion linked to unauthorised administrative arrangements with a commercial bank.
According to the findings, Pakistan Post also opened more bank accounts than the number permitted under the Finance Division’s approval. Transactions worth Rs20 billion were conducted through these accounts.
In another case, auditors reported a loss of Rs492.5 million, while 11 separate cases involved recoverable amounts exceeding Rs3.74 billion.
The report also identified 15 additional cases involving financial irregularities of more than Rs194.54 billion, accounting for a substantial portion of the overall findings.
The audit raises questions about financial controls, recruitment practices, procurement procedures and the management of public funds within the ministry and its associated operations.
The reported figures cover different categories of audit observations, including financial irregularities, losses and recoverable amounts, and do not necessarily represent a single confirmed amount of misappropriated funds.