A consumer court has directed the chief executive of Future Concern, a visa consultancy firm, to pay Rs350,000 to a claimant who says the company defrauded him by taking money to get him a Canadian investor’s visa.
Future Concern CEO Asim Malik has also been summoned the Lahore High Court for allegedly defrauding several customers by not securing visas for them and not refunding them. He has not been attending court proceedings.
Petitioner Azhar Iftikhar Ahmed said that he had hired Future Concerns to get him a visa for Canada.
He said Malik had told him that he could secure an immigration visa if he opened an account in a Canadian bank and deposited Rs7 million in it.
He said Malik had asked him for Rs300,000 to deposit in the account. He said he had agreed to pay the firm Rs100,000 in fees.
He said Malik had told him that he would get a receipt from the bank and an enrolment number from the Canadian High Commission within seven days of the deposit.
He said though he received a letter of thanks regarding the deposit from the firm, he received nothing from the bank or the High Commission.
He then tried to contact Malik, but was told that the CEO had left the country.
He asked the court to direct the respondent to refund his Rs300,000, as well as pay him damages.
Malik filed a written statement in response stating that the petitioner had contacted him to ask about Canadian immigration, but that he had made no suggestion about depositing money in a Canadian bank.
He said that he had only provided consultancy services to the petitioner, for which he had been paid Rs300,000.
Malik’s counsel later withdrew his letter of attorney and no one appeared on behalf of the respondent. The court then proceeded against him ex-parte.
In his verdict, the judge wrote that the respondent admitted to receiving Rs300,000 from the petitioner, but had not been able to prove that the amount was not received for the purpose which has been alleged in the complaint.
He awarded the petitioner Rs350,000 in compensation.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 18th, 2012.
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