Two more Double Shah case accused arrested

NAB has so far arrested 22 accused in the case.

LAHORE: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has arrested two other accomplices of Syed Sibtul Hassan Gilani alias Double Shah who swindled about Rs10 billion from 43,000 people, promising them to return an amount “double” their investment.

Officials of the NAB Punjab are learnt to have started interrogating the detained accused Haji Bashir and Shaukat Warraich after securing their 14-day physical remand from an accountability court. Sibtul Hassan and others have been accused of cheating public at large, using a parallel banking system and criminal breach of trust.

NAB officials told The Express Tribune that they have so far arrested 22 accused, including the main accused Sibtul Hassan, and sent 12 of the accused to jail. They included Sibtul Hassan’s brother Ziaul Hassan Gilani, brother-in-law Munawar Hussain Gilani, adopted son/nephew Chan Peer, cousin Zameerul Hassan, Zaheer Abbas Ghumman, Javed Iqbal, Moazam Gilani, Jameel Rahi and Sheikh Shahid Mehmood.

NAB has so far recovered Rs4.75 billion. The NAB has already disbursed Rs1 billion among 22,000 victims out of 43,000. As many as 10,600 people invested directly while 11,400 of the victims invested through various agents.

Three of the accused, Shahid Jameel (residing in Dubai), Shahzad Mehr and Zahid Farooq, are still at large.

NAB has secured red notices of Interpol for the arrest of Shahid Jameel. Sources said that the main accused transferred a major chunk of the plundered money to Dubai via Hawala and Hundi. The other two accused are said to have disappeared with Rs180 million from Double Shah’s residence just before the NAB raid.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 25^th, 2010.