NICL scam: Amin Dada’s passport revoked

Two member FIA team helped by police raids several places to apprehend Amin Qasim Dada.

NICL scam: Amin Dada still at large

A two-member team of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) helped by local police raided on Sunday several places in Karachi to apprehend Amin Qasim Dada, including his residences, offices and houses of his relatives.

The FIA team comprises Deputy Director Javed Shah and Assistant Director Muhammad Chaudhry. FIA officials believe that Dada has escaped from the country using illegal means.

Meanwhile, FIA again arrested Muhammad Malik, the manager of one of the companies run by Moonis Elahi, on charges of opening accounts using fake particulars and withdrawing Rs100 million from it.

The accounts, FIA officials said, were opened in connivance with employees of the Allied Bank Limited’s Airport Road and Multan Road branches. They said that a total of Rs320 million were withdrawn through these accounts.

The first account was opened in the ABL’s Airport Road branch in the name of a fake firm called Adil Traders, which was supposedly run by one Adil Manzoor. The opening of the account was facilitated by branch manager Rizwan Ali Bhatti. Muhammad Malik later withdrew Rs220 million via four cheques drawn between April 28 last year and May 5.

Another account was opened in ABL’s Multan Road branch in the name of a different bogus firm named Khadim Traders said to be run by a man named Khadim Rasool. Branch manager Khalil Ahmed is said to have colluded in opening of this account, from which Malik later withdrew Rs100 million through three cheques between May 6 and May 10 last year.

The real Adil Manzor is a resident of Chak 185/6-R in Mian Channu tehsil of Khanewal district and a former employee of the Phalia Sugar Mills, while Khadim Rasool runs a crockery shop in Saida Sharif in Phalia tehsil of Mandi Bahauddin district.

In both cases, opening forms of the two accounts gives Muhammad Malik’s residence as the address of account holders. When FIA investigators summoned the actual Adil Manzoor and Khadim Rasool, they denied ever having come in contact with either of bank managers.

FIA officials have secured a four-day physical remand of Malik and one-day physical remand of the two bank mangers.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 31^st, 2011.