Big bank account becomes labourer’s nightmare

Victim told to pay taxes after fake transactions worth millions surfaced

BHAKKAR: Oblivious to the fact that he had turned into an overnight millionaire, labourer Ghazanfar Abbas continued to toil on the bus on which he worked as a helper. It wasn’t until he received the unwanted attention of the Federal Board of Revenue that the man realised that a dubious bank account, dealing in huge sums of money, was operating in his name.

The FBR sent a notice to him that transaction worth millions of rupees were linked to his account. Ghazanfar’s reaction was one of shock when he asked one of his associates to read the notice and explain the situation.

The labourer, upon hearing the news, went in a state of shock when he received the notice from the FBR. The Dhingana resident was told that millions of rupees had been transferred into an account opened in his name. The notice read that all the transactions were completed by Almuiz Industry and Gulf Sugar Mills. It also demanded that the account holder pay taxes on the basis of these transactions.

Ghazanfar said that he is a poor labourer. He added that he supports a household of eight family members who make ends meet through his earnings. “I have not even walked into a bank in my life; how can an account be opened in my name?” the perplexed man asked. He appealed to the government to help him with this matter and requested that the charges against him be dropped.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 28^th, 2019.