The Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) has raised alarm over serious irregularities in the financial dealings of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), citing unauthorised salary hikes, illegal allowances, and billions withheld from the national treasury. According to an audit report, the SECP authorised large increases in the salaries of its chairman and commissioners without securing the required approval from the Ministry of Finance (MoF). 

 

Reports reveal that the SECP was required to obtain approval from the finance division for any pay increase to be considered legal. However, the commission’s management approved the move in a Policy Board meeting on October 17, 2024. The raises were also backdated to July 1, 2023, adding an extra financial burden on the national exchequer.

 

The audit calculated that the SECP’s Chairman Akif Saeed drew a salary package of a staggering Rs41.53 million during fiscal year (FY) 2023-24, translating into an astronomically high monthly payout of Rs34 lakh per month. Moreover, the report revealed that SECP commissioners received Rs35.8 million during the aforementioned period. 

 

Apart from the backdated increase in salaries, reports suggest that the SECP unlawfully disbursed entertainment allowances amounting to a whopping Rs110 million to commissioners and staff. 

 

The AGP noted that although the SECP Policy Board authorised these raises, it did not possess the legal authority to approve such changes. Moreover, it merits a mention that the allowance and pay hikes were made without authorisation from the finance division. 

 

The audit report has recommended that the MoF either authorise the increases in salary to make them legal or reverse the unlawful changes. According to reports, the audit also found that the SECP failed to transfer approximately Rs14 billion into the Federal Consolidated Fund.

 

The SECP’s failure to transfer the funds was in violation of the Public Finance Management Act of 2019, under which revenues generated by federal government entities must be deposited into the Treasury Single Account. Data from reports suggests that the withheld funds came from a range of revenue sources, including Rs4.13 billion from licensing and registration, Rs1.91 billion from specialised companies, Rs591.56 million from the insurance sector, and Rs47.77 million from the securities market.

 

Reports indicate that the SECP retained a surplus balance amount of Rs6.99 billion, failing to deposit it into the Federal Consolidated Fund.