Pakistan mission unearths siphoning of funds

Dubai: Officials at the Pakistan Consulate General in Dubai have unearthed a case of embezzlement at the mission.

The fraud took place in the collection of fees for passports and other consular services. A bank employee Mohammad Esmail, who was at the cash collection counter at the Consulate, was arrested and sentenced to one year in imprison for his involvement in embezzling more than half a million dirhams.

Consulate officials have termed it one of the biggest cases of financial embezzlement unearthed at any Pakistani mission abroad.

A spokesperson at the Consulate said the fraud in the collection of fees was detected by the Vice Consul in March this year soon after his appointment at the passport section.

He found discrepancies in receipts and the statement of the bank, which showed amounts deposited in the consulate account.

Deleting entries

A bank spokesperson told Gulf News that the bank has paid back around Dh500,000 to the Consulate after they checked differences in the receipts issued and the money entered in the computer by the counter clerk.

"We were not bound to pay this money because daily a statement was issued to the Consulate by the end of the day and they were supposed to tally it with the receipts issued on a daily basis. But, we have long-term relations with the Consulate and do not want any misunderstanding. Also, we found a lot of money in the bank account of the accused in Pakistan," he said.

Investigations conducted by Gulf News revealed that the bank clerk worked at the bank counter in the Consulate for about four years. His job was to collect fees for passport renewal, visas, attestations, affidavits, marriage certificates and other services. The fees range from Dh8 to Dh295.

"He made money by deleting entries from the computer records. For example, if he collected fees for 200 passports, he deleted a few entries and kept the money," explained sources.

He could delete entries because officially he could do so in case applicants wanted a refund. He used this option to his advantage. Three receipts are issued when an applicant pays fees. One is kept with the bank, second with the applicant and the third with the consulate.

Investigating officials also blamed consulate staff concerned for not checking bank statements at the end of the day because they are duty bound to do so every day.

"I think the case has been badly handled and the blame has been put entirely on the bank clerk," said an official.

An in-house inquiry committee was also established in March but even after about eight months, the committee has not completed its findings. The accused has almost served half of his sentence," officials said.

The Consulate spokesperson said that they had informed the Pakistan government about the issue and the findings of the inquiry will also be sent to the government.

'No one will be spared'

"We will not spare anyone if they are found involved in the scam," he said. "We are happy that we have detected this fraud and even managed to recover the money," he said.

However, an official said records of only past four years was checked. "There is much more in the case and the inquiry should be handled by a team from Pakistan," he said. Initially, the bank employee confessed of embezzling Dh30,000 and then Dh150,000.

Officials said either it was negligence by some officials at the consulate or deliberate action because it is not understandable why they had not tallied daily bank statements for four years.