KARACHI — The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Karachi has initiated a formal inquiry into alleged multi-billion rupee financial irregularities and premature advance payments within the Karachi Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Yellow Line project. According to bureau sources, the NAB Chairman has directed the Director General of NAB Karachi to spearhead the investigation. The accountability watchdog will specifically scrutinize the release of advance payments totaling Rs8.5 billion, cross-referencing the disbursed funds against actual physical project completion to evaluate what work remains pending. The federal probe will run parallel to an existing investigation by the provincial Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE).
The development follows the recent arrest of the project’s former Director, Zameer Ahmed Abbasi, who was apprehended by the ACE in Lahore after a special anti-corruption court dismissed his bail application. The court raised sharp questions over the payment mechanism, observing that the sheer scale of the anomaly indicates the probable involvement of “big players” within the provincial hierarchy. While the defence argued that the Rs8.5 billion was released strictly against valid bank guarantees and regulatory conditions, the judge observed that massive sums were allegedly disbursed without the mandatory approval of the project consultant or adherence to legal protocols. The ongoing ACE investigation has also implicated former Procurement Director Jhaman Das and other top officials associated with the World Bank-funded Karachi Mobility Project (KMP).
