End of the line: Upper Sindh’s ‘Double Shah’ arrested by NAB

Con artist allegedly robbed people of Rs200 million through fraudulent investments.

SUKKUR: Amanat Ali alias Don Golo and 'the Double Shah of Upper Sindh', who looted hundreds of people by luring them into a scheme to double their capital within a month, was finally arrested by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Sukkur's intelligence team from Islamabad.

According to a press release issued by NAB Sukkur, Ali was arrested in Islamabad on November 3 and, after getting transit remand from the Rawalpindi accountability court, he has been shifted to Sukkur. He will be produced in an accountability court in Sukkur today (Thursday).

The NAB, Sukkur spokesperson said that Ali was arrested after hundreds of complaints were filed against him. Hundreds of people were deprived of their hard earned money on the promise of receiving double the invested amount within a month. According to the spokesperson, Ali stole more than Rs200 million from his victims.

Ali was a resident of Naukot village near Daharki in District Ghotki and had been running similar scams since 2010. In his scams he would first gain his victims' trust by fulfilling his promise and giving them double their money and after they reinvested their funds with him, he would steal their money, saying it had been invested in a business. Sources, however, claim that he made more than Rs1 billion through these scam, as his clientele were spread out from Ghotki to southern Punjab.

Ali, who hailed from a poor family, enjoyed backing by some influential politicians of the district and was leading a luxurious life. He was arrested in 2013 and sent to prison. Later, he obtained bail and since then he has been an absconder. Sources in Daharki claimed that he had purchased two luxury bungalows in Islamabad, which were forcibly occupied by an influential politician from Ghotki.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 10^th, 2016.