Authorities in Lahore have initiated a manhunt for an employee accused of embezzling more than Rs15.8 million from the Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA). The financial irregularity came to light during a reconciliation process on June 23, leading to a formal complaint filed by Muhammad Rizwan, the WCLA Deputy Director of Law, at the Civil Lines Police Station.
The suspect, Azam Ali, who works as a computer operator in the authority’s accounts department, allegedly accessed the organisation’s main bank account without authorization. Investigations revealed that he forged the signature of the WCLA director of administration on official cheques to facilitate unauthorized transactions.
Instead of withdrawing cash directly, Ali reportedly transferred the stolen funds electronically to conceal his actions. These transfers were made to private bank accounts belonging to his wife, Saba Azam, his father, Jamaat Ali, and several other close relatives, police officials.
In a significant development, it was discovered that the suspect had not only forged individual cheques but had also taken possession of an entire official cheque book, with serial numbers ranging from 2002273601 to 2002273700. This expanded the scope of the financial breach considerably.
The police have registered a First Information Report (FIR No 578/26) under sections 420 (cheating), 468 (forgery for cheating), and 471 (using a forged document as genuine) of the Pakistan Penal Code. A specialized investigative team has since frozen the bank accounts linked to Ali’s family members and is conducting raids throughout the province to capture the fugitive and recover the misappropriated funds.
