NICL fraud: Chaudhrys and Warraichs strike deal for Moonis’ release
Mohsin to take the fall, pay back the entire amount plus interest to the govt.
LAHORE:
Moonis Elahi may soon be released from prison as part of a deal struck between Elahi’s family and one of the other accused persons in the National Insurance Company Ltd (NICL) fraud case.
Sources say that the Elahi’s family requested the family of Mohsin Habib Warraich, one of the principal accused in the case, to take the blame for the entirety of the fraud so that Moonis Elahi can then be acquitted in court.
The specifics of the deal are as follows: Mohsin Warraich will take responsibility for, and pay back to the government, the remaining Rs420 million that is still unrecovered in the Rs2,750 million NICL fraud case. The prosecutors at the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) will then be able to claim a 100 per cent recovery of the embezzled amount, allowing them to close the investigations against any other accused persons, including Moonis Elahi.
Sources say that Warraich’s father-in-law, former Federal Health Minister Naseer Khan, served as an intermediary. The Elahi family made it clear to Khan that Moonis was to be the Pakistan Muslim League Quaid’s (PML-Q) nominee for Punjab chief minister in the 2013 elections.
If Moonis is convicted, he is ineligible to run for any elected office. It remains unclear if any quid pro quo was promised in return for the Mohsin Warraich taking the fall in the NICL case.
The Warraich family, through some of the companies they own, have deposited 10 post-dated cheques worth Rs420 million as well as other documents showing their willingness to pay back the entire amount embezzled in the case, plus interest owed on those amounts.
The FIA has been able to track Moonis Elahi’s and his family’s accounts and determine his degree of involvement in the NICL scandal. FIA investigators believe they have proof that Elahi was a beneficiary of the NICL scandal, based on the deposit and withdrawal activity in his accounts.
Many of those accounts, both within Pakistan and abroad, have been frozen while the FIA conducts its investigation. When confronted with the evidence of his involvement, Elahi was unable to offer a plausible explanation, according to investigators familiar with the matter.
Meanwhile, the Serious Organized Crime Agency (SOCA) in Britain, at the request of the FIA, has asked Mohsin Warraich, currently in London, not to travel to any country without clearing his travel plans with Pakistani authorities.
Warraich’s accounts in the UK have also been frozen by British authorities after the FIA presented them with evidence against Warraich in the NICL scandal, investigators said.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 6th, 2011.
Moonis Elahi may soon be released from prison as part of a deal struck between Elahi’s family and one of the other accused persons in the National Insurance Company Ltd (NICL) fraud case.
Sources say that the Elahi’s family requested the family of Mohsin Habib Warraich, one of the principal accused in the case, to take the blame for the entirety of the fraud so that Moonis Elahi can then be acquitted in court.
The specifics of the deal are as follows: Mohsin Warraich will take responsibility for, and pay back to the government, the remaining Rs420 million that is still unrecovered in the Rs2,750 million NICL fraud case. The prosecutors at the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) will then be able to claim a 100 per cent recovery of the embezzled amount, allowing them to close the investigations against any other accused persons, including Moonis Elahi.
Sources say that Warraich’s father-in-law, former Federal Health Minister Naseer Khan, served as an intermediary. The Elahi family made it clear to Khan that Moonis was to be the Pakistan Muslim League Quaid’s (PML-Q) nominee for Punjab chief minister in the 2013 elections.
If Moonis is convicted, he is ineligible to run for any elected office. It remains unclear if any quid pro quo was promised in return for the Mohsin Warraich taking the fall in the NICL case.
The Warraich family, through some of the companies they own, have deposited 10 post-dated cheques worth Rs420 million as well as other documents showing their willingness to pay back the entire amount embezzled in the case, plus interest owed on those amounts.
The FIA has been able to track Moonis Elahi’s and his family’s accounts and determine his degree of involvement in the NICL scandal. FIA investigators believe they have proof that Elahi was a beneficiary of the NICL scandal, based on the deposit and withdrawal activity in his accounts.
Many of those accounts, both within Pakistan and abroad, have been frozen while the FIA conducts its investigation. When confronted with the evidence of his involvement, Elahi was unable to offer a plausible explanation, according to investigators familiar with the matter.
Meanwhile, the Serious Organized Crime Agency (SOCA) in Britain, at the request of the FIA, has asked Mohsin Warraich, currently in London, not to travel to any country without clearing his travel plans with Pakistani authorities.
Warraich’s accounts in the UK have also been frozen by British authorities after the FIA presented them with evidence against Warraich in the NICL scandal, investigators said.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 6th, 2011.