NAB catches investment company chief for cheating people in G-B

Abbas Haider Naqvi will be presented before a NAB court in Karachi

GILGIT: Officials at a sub-office of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Rawalpindi have arrested the head of an investment company for cheating people in Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B).

NAB took Big Board Advisory Service (pvt) Ltd Chief Executive Officer Abbas Haider Naqvi in custody and will present him before a NAB court in Karachi, from where his remand will be transferred to the Gilgit office for further investigation.

According to a statement, Naqvi was wanted by the police for taking investments but not the promised sum.

The advisory service took almost Rs185 million from investors in G-B on promise of annual returns on investment worth 18-36 per cent, read a statement. The investors were also promised 100 to 150 per cent returns over a period of five years.

A large number of small investors gave their money to the company over several years. But after collecting the money, the company vanished.

NAB received 1,019 complaints against the company, demanding return of their investments and punishment for the culprits. Big Board Advisory Service directors, including Syed Sarosh Haider, Arif Khan, Rehman Khan, Muhammad Sadiq Khan and Rehan Khan have already been arrested in this case, while Naqvi was on the run.

His arrest was likely to bring relief to the small investors.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 21^st, 2017.