Axact earned over $205 million through selling fake degrees: FIA report

Company issued fake diplomas and degrees between 2010 and 2015 to 240,000 people, earning $205m in five years

KARACHI: Nine months after the case against Axact was registered, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) submitted the charge sheet in court on Wednesday, accusing 19 top management employees of running an international education scam.

Axact, a software house situated in an upscale area of Karachi, has been alleged of fraudulently making billions of dollars by deceiving people in the name of awarding degrees of fake colleges and universities through online learning programmes.



The final investigation report states that between 2010 and 2015, around 240,000 students of different countries were issued diplomas and degrees of fake American universities, which never existed in the USA. In these five years, the company managed to earn more than $205 million.



The bogus status of these educational institutions were confirmed by the US authorities and during the course it appeared that Axact had set up three shell companies in the region with the name of Mivvel Inc, Tullow Inc and Tinko Inc, the report revealed.

The amount in return of the fake certificates was deposited in the accounts of these companies and their ownership has been confirmed by the accused persons.

Among the 19 suspects nominated, 14 including the company’s chief executive Shoaib Shaikh and his lieutenant Viqas Atique, are in jail on judicial remand. Four more are absconding while Shoaib’s wife, Ayesha, is on bail.



The additional sessions judge-V of Karachi South district accepted the charge sheet and adjourned the hearing till the third week of March.

The court also asked the FIA’s assistant director, Saeed Ahmed Memon, investigating the case, to produce the witnesses on the next hearing date.

The case is registered under sections 182, 201, 383, 409, 418,419, 420, 466, 467, 468, 471, 472, 473, 474, 476, 477-A, 109 and 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code read with sections 36 and 37 of the Electronic Ordinance at the FIA Corporate Crime Circle, Karachi.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 4^th, 2016.