In custody: Physical remand of Double Shah extended by 10 days

Shah was arrested from the Lahore airport on July 14 and handed over to NAB Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

PESHAWAR:

An accountability court on Saturday extended the physical remand of the prime accused in a Modaraba scam by 10 days.

National Accountability Bureau presented Afzal Khaliq, alias Double Shah alias Bhai Jan, in front of judge Muhammad Ibrahim Khan. Shah is accused of swindling people under the garb of Islamic financing and allegedly looting billions of rupees under AK Forex Private Limited.

NAB’s public prosecutor requested the court to extend Shah’s physical remand. The court was informed the accused had accumulated Rs15 billion from people, mostly poor, on the pretext of increasing their investment. However, he disappeared soon after collecting the money. As many as 40,000 complaints were subsequently registered against him.

Double Shah was then arrested on July 14 from Lahore airport and handed over to NAB Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa as the bureau had already placed his name on the exit control list.

In the press release NAB issued following the arrest of the accused, the bureau said Shah cheated the public and deprived them of billions in the name of Modaraba (Islamic investment)/Musharika business. It said the victims belonged to remote areas of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa as well as central Punjab.

The statement was released on August 8 by NAB’s headquarters in Islamabad, saying the headquarters and all regional offices have established reception desks to attend to complaints of the general public. The move came following directions from NAB Chairman Qamar Zaman Chaudhry.

“These reception desks have been established especially to facilitate/attend affectees of Modaraba scams, and the public in general.” NAB Chairman has also directed to depute dedicated officers to attend to these complaints.

The officer of the complaint cell will personally receive and respond to complaints for two hours every day, stated the dispatch.

The bureau has filed two different references of Modaraba scams in the accountability court in the last three months. The first was filed on May 23, wherein the bureau suspects Rs142 million was misappropriated, while the second reference is of Rs2.71 billion.

Outside the court room, victims of Double Shah’s fraudulent scheme protested and demanded he be punished severely for his actions.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 10^th, 2014.