Axact CEO acquitted in money laundering case

Earlier this month, Shoaib Shaikh was granted bail in the same case

A district and sessions court on Wednesday acquitted Axact CEO Shoaib Shaikh in a money laundering case over lack of evidence.

Quashing the money laundering case against Shaikh, the defence moved an application under section 265-k of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CCP) before South District's additional sessions judge. The application sought acquittal of the accused since the prosecution failed to bring any evidence supporting their claim on record, Shaikh's attorey Imdad Ali Saheto told The Express Tribune.

The case over hawala hundi allegations was established alongside the main Axact case. It is the first case the Axact CEO has been relieved of charges in.



Earlier this month, the SHC granted bail to Shaikh in the same case. According to reports, Justice Muhammad Iqbal Kalhoro also granted bail to 14 other co-accused nominated by Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in the fake degree scam.

Shaikh, along with six directors of the company was taken in custody on May 27, 2015 after investigators found hundreds of thousands of forged degrees and students ID cards from a secret office of the company in Karachi. In June last year, a district sessions court in Karachi sent Shaikh and eight others on a two-day judicial remand in the fake degree case.



During the hearing, FIA investigators contended before the court that “concrete” evidence was discovered against the accused during their investigation. “Abdul Rauf, the owner of a printing press, who the Axact management hired to publish fake degrees has been traced and been included in the witnesses list,” an investigation officer told the court.



The officer upheld that the statements of three witnesses will be recorded during the next hearing. Further, the FIA team also submitted the medical treatment report of the accused as the judge had asked for it during the previous hearing. The investigators submitted that the computers and data seized from the company were being decoded and the findings would be available soon.