Hearing adjourned due to Shoaib Shaikh's absence

Jail officials inform court that Axact CEO had a nervous breakdown

KARACHI: A South additional district and sessions judge adjourned on Saturday the hearing of the fake degrees and money laundering case related to Axact.

Suspects in the case, including Ayesha Shaikh, Junaid and Younus, attended the hearing. However, the prime suspect, Axact Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Shoaib Shaikh was not produced before the court by the jail officials. Due to the absence of Shoaib and his lawyer Shaukat, the hearing was postponed till March 10.

Expressing displeasure over Shoaib's absence, the judge remarked that the Sindh High Court had given orders to indict the Axact CEO. The jail officials informed the court that Shoaib had a nervous breakdown and was sick, due to which he could not be produced before the court.



Bail plea rejected

Later, a South additional district and sessions judge issued a written order, rejecting Shoaib's bail plea. The order read that according to the FIR, the Axact CEO opened bank accounts in the name of his mother and transferred money to the United Arab Emirates through Chanda Money Exchange.

According to the order, witnesses, Muhammad Asif and Muhammad Ali, recorded their statements in front of a judicial magistrate, which supported the stance of the Federal Investigation Agency. Around Rs170 million was allegedly sent abroad. The order read that bail could not be granted to Shoaib because of the evidence against him.