FIA on hunt for visa scandal suspects

RAWALPINDI:

In the visa fraud case involving a senior Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) officer, the FIA Anti-Corruption Circle Islamabad has seized the bank accounts of an FBR senior officer and other accused, including passengers and facilitators.

Their names and details have also been placed on the travel ban panel list over fears of fleeing abroad.

According to sources, FIA teams are conducting raids to arrest the accused.

It may be recalled that a mega scandal was revealed a day earlier in which private individuals were allegedly shown as an official delegation under the leadership of an FBR officer to obtain French visas. An official email was also sent to the embassy for two individuals, Kamran and Aamir Shahzad.

The senior FBR officer, Atiqur Rehman, allegedly received Rs5.3 million for the visas into two separate bank accounts — his own and that of another facilitator. In the email, private individuals were shown as FBR employees. According to FIA, the private individuals included a driver and a property dealer.