The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has unearthed a scam involving over Rs 1.5 billion defrauded by some officials of Allied Bank Limited (ABL).
The amount is the taxpayers’ money as has been encashed from the Term Deposits (TDs) account of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC).
The scam has been carried out at the CivicCenter and Hasan Square branches of ABL.
According to details, the KMC complained to the FIA against ABL management saying the bank was involved in “illegal, fraudulent and premature encashment” of TDs worth Rs 1.557 billion booked by the corporation since 2008 at the bank’s two branches.
Syed Wajahat Hussain Naqvi, an ABL staffer, embezzled the huge sum through opening in 2008, what the investigators found, a “fake and fictitious” bank account titling Project Director, TKP (SD A/c).
Dramatically, Naqvi, the mastermind of the scam, was assassinated in a “target killing” on January 22 this year. “A bomb blast at University Road,” said the investigators.
Conniving with ABL’s officials at the bank’s CivicCenter branch, Naqvi had started “illegally” transferring millions of rupees from different bank accounts of the KMC. “The funds were withdrawn in cash from the fake and fictitious bank account of Project Director, TKP (SD A/c),” the federal investigators observed.
The proceeds of crime were laundered through what the investigators said “real estate and construction industry”.
Over Rs 22.4 million were transferred into the bank account of M.S Builders owned by a businessman Shaikh Muhammad Sabir at ABL’s CivicCenter branch.
Then more than Rs 99.26 million were transferred “illegally” to the accounts of M.S Builders and M/s Moosa Enterprises and M/s San Ford Associates. The two firms are owned by Shaikh Muhammad Shahid.
The FIA said that the irregularity was checked by neither the bank’s compliance department nor the auditors. Nor Currency Transaction Reports (CTRs) or Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) were generated by the ABL on the fake accounts.
Approximately, over Rs 996.84 million were transferred into Naqvi’s fake account from where the funds were withdrawn in cash, they added.
The persons and companies under investigation are Naqvi’s father Syed Qamar Hussain Naqvi, brother Syed Ali Hussain Naqvi, wife Syeda Sadaf Zehra and other family members.
Also, under probe are KMC director Muhammad Ehsan and his colleague and spouse Arshi Zehra. At least a dozen accused are there in the crime of which four are ABL staffers: Naqvi (killed), Azhar Ali Khwaja, Saeed Ahmed Qazi and Seema Talat.
Also, Naqvi’s family members like father Qamar, brother Ali Naqvi, wife Sadaf and Ehsan’s wife Arshi are on the accused list. While KMC’s Ehsan is under arrest, the remaining accused are walking free on pre- and post-arrest bails while Sadaf and Arshi are absconding.
The FIA has seized various bank accounts and properties of the accused that include Jari Cattle Farm, Jari Foods, One to All Electronics, M/s San Ford Associates, M/s Moosa Enterprises and M/s Moosa Arcade.
