–Says ‘our heads are bowed in shame because of this scam, orders FIA DG to file detailed report on the matter within 10 days
ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar on Friday took suo motu notice of the Axact fake degree scandal and ordered the director general of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to submit a detailed report on the matter within 10 days.
Taking notice of recent national and international headlines pertaining to the fake degree scam, the CJP said that no one who tarnishes Pakistan’s name would be allowed to go scot-free.
“Our heads are bowed in shame because of this scandal,” he said.
The CJP said that if the news was true, then one should be prepared to deal with the scandal, but if the news is incorrect, then it is Pakistan’s job to defend itself as the scam is tarnishing the country’s name in the world. Nisar observed that the case had surfaced earlier and had been heard in various courts.
Axact first came into the limelight in 2015 when a New York Times report titled “Fake Diplomas, Real Cash: Pakistani Company Axact Reaps Millions” outlined how the “secretive Pakistani software company” had allegedly earned millions of dollars from scams involving fake degrees, non-existent online universities and manipulation of customers.
According to the report, Axact had created a series of fake websites involving “professors” and students who it said were in fact paid actors.
A fake degrees case against Axact was ongoing in the Sindh High Court. The last notable development was that Axact Chief Executive Officer Shoaib Sheikh and 13 co-accused were granted bail by the SHC in August 2016.
A district and sessions court hearing a money laundering case against Sheikh acquitted the Axact CEO not long after.
Umair Hamid, a vice president of Axact, was last year sentenced to 21 months in prison in the US for his role in the international diploma mill scheme. In addition to the prison term, Hamid, 31, from Karachi, was ordered to forfeit $5,303,020. He had pleaded guilty on April 6, 2017 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Pakistan is always in the limelight for all the wrong reasons. I beleive some of our politicians in the national Assembly are also boasting of degrees from unknown universities from various countries. What a shame!
Comments are closed.