Loans issued from ‘fake’ bank account in Karachi

Another case of an alleged fake bank account has surfaced in Karachi on which a credit card and loans were issued, a local media outlet said Saturday.

Shahid, the victim who is a labourer in Korangi Industrial Area, claimed that a fake bank account was set up in his name and loans were issued from it.

The victim said he came to know this when he received a call from the recovery department of the private bank telling him that he has outstanding dues of over Rs 700,000 which he must pay back. Shocked at the news, he visited the bank’s head office where he was informed that a copy of his National Identity Card was also attached to the forms.

Shahid maintained that he never opened a bank account. He recalled that a relative had received his signature several years ago on the pretext of securing him a job who may have been responsible for the crime.

He has a complaint with the bank’s head office and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), claiming that he has been defrauded by the issuance of loans on his name. He demanded that those involved in the scam should be arrested immediately.

The FIA is investigating the bank’s fraud management department and had reportedly received the address of the man who defrauded Shahid on the pretext of securing a job for him.

In September, the Supreme Court-mandated Joint Investigation Team (JIT) — set up to probe into money laundering cases — revealed that 33 suspicious accounts containing billions that were found during the course of an inquiry.

On September 29, a food vendor in a low-income neighbourhood of the metropolis was beside himself with surprise when he discovered that an account in his name in a private bank contained more than two billion rupees. Moreover, the agency recently found Rs173 million in a bank account of an unemployed youth belonging to Jhang.