Proclaimed offender: Riyadh nabs 2010 Hajj scam accused, says FIA

Saudi officials are silent on when Faiz will be extradited, SC told.

ISLAMABAD:

Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has informed the apex court that the Saudi authorities have arrested last week a proclaimed offender (PO) involved in the 2010 Hajj fraud.

The FIA revealed this in a report, submitted on Tuesday in the Supreme Court, whose three-judge bench – headed by Justice Jawwad S Khawaja – will resume hearing of the case today (Wednesday).

During the last hearing, the court had given the last chance to the FIA to implement its December 6, 2013 judgment regarding the repatriation of the accused.

A senior official in the FIA told The Express Tribune that Ahmed Faiz, a building supervisor, had been arrested in Saudi Arabia. “The Saudi authorities have, however, not yet informed Pakistan in writing as to when the accused will be extradited,” he said.

The FIA report reveals  that a notice was published in Urdu-language newspapers in Saudi Arabia through the ministry of religious affairs, offering a reward of Rs1 million for providing any information leading to the suspect, Ahmed Faiz.

It says after the news about the top court’s proceedings in Pakistan reached Saudi Arabia, Faiz went into hiding and he was planning to move to Taif or Riyadh. The report claims that prior to his attest an incident of ‘dramatic interception and escape’ was reported by Intelligence Bureau (IB).

“On June 23, 2014, while Ahmad Faiz was trying to shift his residence to some other place, a group of four persons (two Pakistanis and two Saudis) intercepted his vehicle and took him forcibly to an unknown location,” it says.

According to the FIA narrative, the four-member gang – including Faiz’s son-in-law – was interested to earn the head money fixed on him by the government of Pakistan or to get ransom from his family.

“However in the meantime, sons of Ahmed Faiz managed to trace the location of abductors. They along with 20/25 Pakistanis attacked the hiding place and got Ahmed Faiz released,” the report adds without saying much about his subsequent arrest.

According to the report, during the course of inquiry conducted by the FIA, it came to the fore that out of 631 Hajj Group Organisations (HGO), 33 HGOs charged an extra amount of Rs5,000 from each pilgrim in the name of Hajj compensation amount fund, guarantee or security etc.

“The total number of pilgrims pertaining to these 33 HGOs comes to 4,480 and the amount involved is Rs22,40,000. So far, out of the 33 HGOs, 9 HGOs have returned the extra-charged amount to the pilgrims and have submitted their affidavits in this regard,” it says.

It says the FIA urged the ministry of religious affairs to take action against the remaining HGOs, which were reluctant to pay back the extra amount charged to the pilgrims.

In response to the FIA letter, the ministry of religious affairs on March 31 constituted a Complaint Disposal Committee (CDC) to discuss the issue of 33 HGOs, it adds.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 9^th, 2014.