Payments made to cover Naqvi’s expenses: Rs4.17m malfeasance uncovered in PCB

ISLAMABAD: Irregularities worth Rs4.17 million have been detected in the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), where unauthorised payments were made to cover the utility bills, fuel, and accommodation expenses of its Chairman, Mohsin Naqvi, despite his concurrent role as Federal Minister for Interior.

According to the Audit Report 2024-25, the PCB spent Rs2.45 million on utility bills for Naqvi’s Lahore residence, Rs1.16 million on fuel for an official Toyota Fortuner, and Rs0.56 million on accommodation at a five-star hotel in Islamabad between February and June 2024. The report held that these expenses were unauthorised, as the Chairman, being a federal minister, was already entitled to such privileges under the Federal Ministers and Ministers of State (Salaries, Allowances and Privileges) Act, 1975.

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Auditors rejected the PCB’s defence that the payments were permissible under its bye-laws, stressing that no individual can claim the same facilities from two different sources. The Departmental Accounts Committee (DAC), in its January 2025 meeting, directed recovery of the accommodation charges and sought clarification on the remaining expenses.

The report has recommended full recovery of the irregular payments and submission of verified records for audit examination.

The revelations come at a time when PCB is already under heightened scrutiny over the financial management of PSL 9, raising further concerns about governance and accountability within the country’s premier cricketing body.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025