Pak Datacom’s Rs 556.8 Million Solar Deal Comes Under Scrutiny as SECP Probe Sought

Pak Datacom Limited has come under scrutiny over a Rs 556.8 million solar-panel transaction, with a detailed complaint seeking an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) into the company’s procurement, payment, internal-audit, and corporate-governance processes.

The allegations are contained in a 23-page complaint and accompanying internal records linked to former Pak Datacom chief executive Brigadier (retd) Syed Zulfiqar Ali, who headed the company for nearly five years.

Complaint document

According to the complaint, Pak Datacom paid Rs 556.828 million on May 25, 2026, to Karachi-based company MSBI as an advance for the purchase of solar panels. The same stock was later reported to have been sold to another Karachi-based company, Fabrica, with invoices issued in June.

Around Rs 556 million was expected to be recovered from Fabrica by August 31, 2026, according to the documents cited in the complaint.

The complaint questions whether normal procurement, commercial, internal-audit, and computerized recording procedures were fully followed during the transaction. It also raises concerns over the physical movement of the solar panels, approval mechanisms and the role of different departments within the company.

Pak Datacom officials, however, have rejected the allegations.

Ali Saleem Rana and General Manager Waseem Ahmed said the claims were being made by the company’s former chief executive and had no basis in fact. They maintained that major business and financial decisions at Pak Datacom are taken with the approval of the board of directors and in accordance with established company procedures.

Procurement, Delivery and Audit Processes Questioned

The complaint alleges that the transaction involved around 20 to 30 containers of solar panels and claims that parts of the deal may have been processed largely through documentation rather than the normal commercial workflow.

It further raises questions over whether gate passes and movement documents corresponded with the actual physical delivery of the goods.

However, the material provided does not conclusively establish that the goods were not delivered, and no independent regulatory finding on the allegation has been cited.

The complaint also questions the relationship between MSBI, which sold the solar panels, and Fabrica, which purchased them from Pak Datacom. It alleges that the two companies may have had a common underlying interest.

The accompanying documents, however, do not include SECP records establishing common ownership between the two entities.

Another major concern raised in the complaint is that Pak Datacom’s commercial and solar-business teams were allegedly not fully involved in the transaction.

It claims that senior officials including the chief commercial officer, general manager south, deputy general manager solar business, senior marketing manager and relevant account managers were either unaware of or excluded from important parts of the deal.

The complaint further alleges that the transaction was not subjected to a pre-audit despite an existing board-approved policy and was not fully processed through the company’s Odoo computerized system.

Pak Datacom management disputes these assertions and says the relevant business and financial decisions were undertaken with board approval and that the company possesses supporting legal and commercial records.

SECP Asked to Examine Governance and Financial Questions

The documents show that Pak Datacom had entered the solar business well before the disputed 2026 transaction.

The company’s solar expansion plans were discussed at the board’s 214th meeting in October 2022, when approval was given to import up to 48 containers annually.

By August 2023, Pak Datacom had begun importing solar panels directly from Chinese manufacturer LONGi. An April 2025 business plan stated that the company had imported and sold 25 containers, equivalent to about 10.7MW of solar panels, generating reported revenue of around Rs 364 million.

The complaint argues that the earlier direct-import model was more profitable than the 2026 transaction conducted through a local supplier.

It estimates that if around Rs 500 million had remained invested with a commercial bank for approximately three months, it could have generated returns of between Rs 12.5 million and Rs 15 million, compared with an estimated net profit of around Rs 10.5 million from the solar deal after taxes and other costs.

These calculations are part of the complainant’s assessment and have not been independently verified.

The complaint also links the transaction to Pak Datacom’s financial performance, citing a decline in earnings per share and revenue during the nine months ended April 2026.

On that basis, it alleges that booking a solar sale of more than Rs 500 million before the close of the financial year may have significantly increased reported revenue.

Beyond the solar transaction, the complaint raises questions over other company expenditures between July 2025 and June 2026, including alleged spending on vehicles, board meetings and committee-related payments.

It asks the SECP to examine whether competitive bids were sought, whether the procurement committee and full board formally approved the deal, whether any disclosure obligations arose for the Pakistan Stock Exchange and shareholders, and whether the transaction was consistent with the company’s constitutional documents.

The complainant has also sought an examination of broader allegations concerning possible misuse of funds, commissions and other financial benefits.

However, the documents cited do not provide conclusive evidence establishing money laundering, illicit commissions or diversion of funds, and no regulatory finding has been made on those claims.

Pak Datacom officials have maintained that the allegations are unfounded and that all major commercial and financial decisions were taken under board oversight and in line with established rules.

The matter now rests with the SECP, which has been asked to examine the transaction, the role of management, and the responsibilities of the board under the Companies Act, 2017 and relevant corporate-governance provisions.

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