The Directorate of Post Clearance Audit (PCA) has unveiled Rs16 billion in trade-based corruption in the import of solar panels, reported Business Recorder.

The First Information Report (FIR) stated that the directorate conducted an extensive investigation against the suspicious company and the outcomes revealed that 12 companies were found involved in this trade-based money laundering.

The said corruption harmed the nation’s exchequer of over Rs16 billion as the outlaws used the set of their non-existent businesses and put to wrong use of customs procedures to import goods illegally under legal cover.

The companies incorporated 11 fake companies’ NTN based in Lahore to enable clearance. The imported goods were also misdeclared or cleared by the wrong practices of the green channel.

Furthermore, the FIR revealed that the documents of the company were fake and funds were not being used as per the declared worth of the companies.

The FIR stated that two individuals have been arrested, one of them who was involved in the clearing is on seven-day remand and the other was nab in the raids.

BR sources claimed that after the said trade-base money laundering a sectoral audit has been initiated upon the direction of the Federal Bureau of Revenue, and so far nine FIRs have been registered by the PCA which disclosed the corruption in Peshawar-based cartel, Quetta-based cartel, and Karachi-based cartel.

The corruption practices in the import of solar panels have been revealed under the guidance of DG PCA Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali and Director PCA South, Sheeraz Ahmed.