{
  "id": 4349036,
  "title": "Court approves ex-banker’s plea bargain in Kohistan graft case",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/30/court-approves-ex-bankers-plea-bargain-in-kohistan-graft-case",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-30T05:04:25.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Dawn - Pakistan",
    "slug": "dawn-pakistan",
    "url": "https://www.dawn.com/news/2026008/court-approves-ex-bankers-plea-bargain-in-kohistan-graft-case"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "PESHAWAR: An accountability court approved a plea bargain on Saturday, releasing a former bank officer accused in a major graft case involving the embezzlement of over Rs37 billion in Upper Kohistan district accounts office. Judge Kalim Arshad Khan ruled that Hareeq Shah, who served as a branch operation officer at Askari Commercial Bank’s Dassu Branch in Upper Kohistan, should be released if his custody was not needed in other cases. Shah had voluntarily surrendered the crime proceeds in the form of payment, according to the court. The plea bargain application was accepted by NAB chairman in August 2026 and referred to the accountability court for final approval. Hareeq Shah, along with co-accused Shafiq Ali, stood disqualified as per Section 15 of the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO). The case pertains to illegal withdrawal and misappropriation of government funds from the public exchequer, punishable under Section 9(a) of the NAO. Accused Shah served as Branch Operations Officer at Askari Commercial Bank's Dassu Branch from 2019 to 2025. During this period, he operated fake bank accounts and derived illegal gains by receiving proceeds of crime in accounts titled Shahdad & Brothers and his father's account. Co-accused Shafiq Ali admitted to using Hareeq Shah's account for personal financial transactions, and an amount of Rs355 million kept at his residence was recovered by the NAB team. The special prosecutors produced the original plea bargain agreement, stating the accused entered into the agreement of his own free will and consent.",
  "summary": "PESHAWAR: An accountability court here on Saturday approved a Rs409.68 million plea bargain of a former bank officer arrested by the National Accountability Bureau in a high-profile case involving the alleged embezzlement of over Rs37 billion cash in the Upper Kohistan district accounts office. Judge Kalim Arshad Khan declared that accused Hareeq Shah, a former branch operation officer at Askari…",
  "key_points": [
    "Former bank officer Hareeq Shah released on plea bargain.",
    "Accused in Rs37 billion embezzlement case in Kohistan.",
    "Shah surrendered crime proceeds, disbarred under NAO."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}