Gold, cash worth Rs 730 million seized from Pakistan bureaucrat's house

Karachi: Pakistan's anti-graft body has arrested Balochistan's Finance Secretary and recovered gold and currency worth Rs 730 million from his house in Quetta, the provincial capital.

The huge amount of money and gold were seized on Friday during a raid by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) at the residence of Finance Secretary Mushtaq Ahmed Raisani, who was arrested earlier in the day on charges of embezzling billions of rupees from government development funds.

During the raid, officials found bags filled with local and foreign currency and gold from the house. The finance department was sealed during the raid.

The officials searched all rooms to sift through records, sources said, adding that records of the finance department were also seized for further investigation.

Raisani, an influential bureaucrat in Balochistan, has served as finance secretary for the last few years. He served in same position during the PPP government's term.

Balochistan government announced suspension of Raisani in a late night notification.

A provincial government spokesperson told media that they will fully co-operate with NAB during investigation.

Chief Minister's Advisor on Finance Mir Khalid Langau resigned from his post following Raisani's arrest. Langau said he quit because a man from his department is facing such grave allegations of corruption and foul play, which does not morally allow him to stay in his post.

After a string of arrests in Sindh province, this is the first high-profile arrest made by the accountability body in Balochistan, as the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz seeks to unearth corruption worth billions of rupees in the provincial finance department's development funds.