A session court directed the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to investigate an online investment scam of Rs. 342,000 with a Karachi-based citizen.
As per the details, FIA initiated the case after the complainant, Muhammad Monis Rana, sought help from a session court due to a sluggish inquiry by the FIA.
The Additional Sessions Judge-VIII (East) in Karachi, heard the application by the citizen, requesting instructions for the FIA to register a First Information Report (FIR) and initiate an investigation of the case. The judge observed that the initial inquiry began in March, and even after three months, it had not come to a conclusion.
The judge remarked in the written order, “This may suggest failure on the part of FIA either due to inefficiency or some ulterior motive”.
Furthermore, the complainant’s lawyers, Muhammad Waqas Hussain, Hina Rahim, and Shahabuddin Soharwardi submitted the application under sections 22-A and B of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).
Resultantly, the court directed the FIA to register the FIR and initiate an investigation against the accused company along with the famous YouTubers, and social media influencers who were involved in misleading advertising of the fraudulent app.
Muzammil Ali, owner of the account, and Mateen Awan, who advertised the app on social media, along with their anonymous accomplices have been listed as accused in the FIR.
Moreover, the complainant mentioned in the FIR that he was scammed of Rs. 342,000 in an online investment fraud in which he deposited varying sums of money in an account titled ‘Siddiqui Mobile’ that was shared by the online platform.
According to him, he tried to contact them via email in order to meet their representatives in Pakistan. However, it transpired that the company did not have any presence in Pakistan, instead, it was registered, regulated, and governed by the laws of the Caribbean Island of Saint Vincent.
Furthermore, during the investigation, it was revealed that multiple companies, engaged in online fraud, were using the same registration details.
It is important to know that the gross turnover of the accused company’s account was discovered to be over Rs. 32 million.
