Apex court: SC rejects plea for cancellation of bail in car loans case

Bank officials are accused of running a car loan racket.

KARACHI: A division bench of Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed two applications filed for cancellation of bail granted to officers of a bank as complainant failed to establish that the accused were beneficiary of the money allegedly swindled in an auto car loan scam.

Muhammad Abid and Baber Shaikh, father and son, who obtained 17 cars on lease from Al-Falah Bank, filed the application for cancellation of bail granted to the alleged accused Syed Hasan Haider Zaidi, Manager of main branch of the bank and other officials.

ZU Mujahid advocate appearing for the complainand requested the apex court to cancel the bail granted to the accused by the Sindh High Court and maintained that the accused issued auto car loans in the name of different fake persons on old documents which amounts to forgery and fraud with the bank.

According to initial investigations by FIA, incorporated in interim charge sheet, the accused issued the car loans but later the vehicles were recovered on the pretext of default and then auctioned or sold to favorites at throwaway prices pocketing handsome amount in between.

The accused Muhammad Murad Ali Usmani, Syed Safdar Mehdi, Minhaj Shamim, Baber Zia and others were booked by FIA under sections 409/ 419/ 420/ 468/ 471/ 109/ 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code.

The accused denied the allegations. Rasheed A Razvi advocate appearing for the main accused, Syed Hasan Haider, submitted that the bank itself had admitted that no loss was caused to it. He said that out of alleged 3,000 cases of auto car loans, the accused approved only three and that too as member of the Credit Committee and hence no crime was committed by his client.

Deputy Attorney General Ashique Raza to a query by the court said that he opposes the cancellation plea as FIA cannot investigate matters pertaining to private banks or companies.

It is for the State Bank of Pakistan to lodge any complaint in case of a bank, said Rasheed A Razvi.

The bench, comprising Justices Sarmad Jalal Osmany and Amir Hani Muslim, then asked Investigating Officer, Muhammad Iqbal, to come forward and answer some questions regarding collection of evidence and investigations which according to him are still under way.

Muhammad Iqbal, formerly posted in the Banking Circle of FIA, said investigations point towards the accused but as the bank did not provide relevant record, he was unable to arrest the dealer who appears to have some nexus with the grant of auto loans.

The persons, against whom pay orders were issued, were fake and fictitious who later absconded.

The accounts were opened in the same bank and pay orders en-cashed, he told the bench.

The bench asked that why he failed in recording statements of witnesses under section 164 of Criminal Procedure Code and why he failed to obtain necessary record from the bank.

The bench after a detailed hearing dismissed the request for cancellation of bail.

The complainant alleges that 4,000 auto car loans were issued to fake persons and billions of rupees were swindled by the bank officials and absconding dealers.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 4^th, 2012.