Every year, whistleblowers around the world protect millions of dollars’ worth of public funds, which are vital for providing essential services such as education, healthcare and infrastructure. In 2022, Transparency International Pakistan’s ALAC received a whistleblower complaint highlighting official collusion with two private oil companies, costing the state 1.13 billion rupees (US$3.9 million). Under Pakistani law, oil companies must pay royalties of 12.5 per cent of production value, collected by the federal government and paid to the province where the well-head is situated. The whistleblower highlighted that the Ministry of Energy had issued a directive ordering the oil company, SPUD Energy to pay outstanding royalties of 835 million rupees (US$2.9 million) but alleged that SPUD had not been forced to pay, while another producer, the Frontier Holding Company, had also failed to pay royalties worth 303 million rupees (US$1.1 million).
Protecting the whistleblower’s identity, Transparency International Pakistan wrote to the Prime Minister asking the regulators to investigate and recover the outstanding amounts. When the Director General of Petroleum Concessions responded in January 2023 that it was provincial matter, not a federal one, Transparency International Pakistan wrote to the Prime Minister again. The chapter pointed out that the Director General’s response contradicted the Ministry of Energy directive to SPUD and highlighted his inaction to recover the outstanding amount. Four days later, the Prime Minister’s office instructed the Secretary of the Petroleum Division to ensure recovery of the royalties within two weeks. In February 2023, the Director General informed Transparency International Pakistan that the Treasury had received the royalties from both companies – to be used in creating vital resources for the people of Pakistan.
Source: Transparency International https://www.transparency.org/en/blog/whistleblower-stories-individuals-safeguarded-public-interest-exposing-misconduct?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=weekly-17-01-2025
