FIA Arrests 20 Involved in Massive Stamp Paper Scam Worth Billions

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has arrested 20 suspects in a stamp paper scandal involving the illegal issuance of government stamp papers through fake treasury receipts, causing huge losses to the national exchequer, as previously reported by ProPakistani. According to FIA Islamabad, an FIR has been registered against 71 individuals, including officers and officials of the Federal Treasury Office (FTO) in Islamabad and private stamp vendors. FIA officials said the accused illegally issued stamp papers for financial gain by abusing their official positions and failing to deposit mandatory government fees, including stamp paper fees, court fees, and foreign bill fees, into the federal treasury. The investigation revealed that the suspects issued 2,638 fake or bogus TR-32 challan forms, resulting in a confirmed loss of Rs. 296.49 million to the national exchequer. Officials added that the actual financial damage is likely to be much higher and will be determined after a comprehensive forensic audit of the FTO office for the last ten years. In a parallel inquiry, sources revealed that the scandal is one of the largest revenue frauds in recent years and may involve stamp papers worth hundreds of millions or even billions of rupees issued on fraudulent receipts. The fraud allegedly remained undetected for years due to the absence of a verification mechanism between the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and the Federal Treasury Office. Under standard procedures, vendors deposit stamp paper fees in the SBP and obtain an official receipt, which they present to the Treasury Office to collect stamp papers for resale. Investigators believe this process was systematically manipulated using fabricated SBP receipts, allowing the issuance of large quantities of stamp papers without any actual deposits. Officials from the Ministry of Finance confirmed that the fraud may have been ongoing for several years, exploiting significant procedural loopholes. “The lack of a digital or real-time verification system created a perfect environment for manipulation,” a senior official familiar with the investigation said. A high-level inquiry committee has been formed to investigate the full scope of the scam and has been directed to submit its report within one month. Meanwhile, the Federal Treasury Office has lodged its own FIR against several stamp vendors, some of whom have reportedly fled abroad to evade arrest. Sources fear the total financial impact of the scandal could run into billions of rupees, making it one of the most serious cases of revenue leakage in the country’s history.