Immigration scandal: FIA seeks Interpol’s help to arrest con couple

The accused are wanted in 175 human trafficking and visa fraud cases.

LAHORE: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has contacted the Interpol to seek assistance in arresting and bringing back a couple to Pakistan, which is reportedly wanted in 175 human trafficking and visa fraud cases amounting to Rs500 million, The Express Tribune has learnt.

The Interpol has issued red warrants on FIA’s request for the arrest of Asim Mehmood Malik, chief executive officer of a visa consultancy firm ‘Future Concern Associates (FCA)’, and his wife Zobia Rubab Malik, also a director at FCA. FIA sources privy to the matter revealed that Mehmood and Rubab were earlier seen in Dubai and later in UK, after which the request for their arrest was made to Interpol.

Mehmood has been accused in all 175 FIRs while his wife, Rubab, and some employees of the firm are also accused in various FIRs on the charges of extorting an amount of Rs500 million from various people on the pretext of sending them abroad, particularly to UK, Canada, Austria, Germany and some other European countries.

FIA has so far confiscated assets worth Rs190 million against the total claim of about Rs500 million in 175 cases registered with FIA Anti Human Trafficking Circle’s police station at Lahore under the Emigration Ordinance 1979, and Section 406 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). Five employees of the firm have been arrested and sent to judicial lockup but the two main accused, Mehmood and Rubab, remain at large.

During the course of investigation it has been revealed that most of assets belonging to the couple are in the name of Mahmood’s uncle. This includes 49 acres of land in Bhera, four expensive cars and a stake of Rs50 million in a Lahore-based TV channel.

FIA has also traced 23 bank accounts linked to FCA.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 30^th, 2013.