Currency fraud case lodged in Dijkot
A case has been registered against the owner of a currency exchange for embezzling Rs104 million from the former chairman of the district council.
Police said a stand has been taken in the case filed by the former chairman District Council and PML-N leader, Mian Moazzam Farooq against Muhammad Arshad, owner of Noble Currency Exchange on Susan Road Madina Town.
Mian Farooq wanted to buy Rs104 million worth of dollars and transfer it to a UK-based account for a business transaction 11 months ago.
Taking Farooq’s money, Arshad exchanged it for $85,500, which he embezzled instead of transferring to the account in the UK.
Cases of foreign exchange fraud are nothing new in Pakistan, with exchangers siphoning money either directly from clients or from the company itself.
In 2013, Express Tribune covered the story of three employees of the now-defunct Zarco exchange company who embezzled Rs250 million from company accounts. The accused were charged for violating the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, among other cybercrime and financial laws.
When pressed about the money by Mian Farooq, he gave no satisfactory answer, leading to a complaint being filed. Madina Town Police registered the case under the provisions of 406 TPP and started raids to arrest him.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 12th, 2022.