FIA initiates probe into fake bank receipts

Major parliamentarians have received fake bank receipts with transactions worth billions of rupees in the past few days

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has initiated a formal investigation into several Pakistani politicians had received fake bank receipts with transactions worth billions of rupees in the past few days.

Major parliamentarians, including Senate Chairman Mian Raza Rabbani, National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, opposition leaders of both the Houses of Parliament Syed Khursheed Shah and Aitzaz Ahsan and parliamentary leaders, including JUI-F head Maulana Fazlur Rehman, have received fake bank receipts worth millions of rupees.

NA Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq wrote a letter to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) governor stating that the matter should immediately be investigated and he should be updated promptly on it.

The NA speaker's office was informed by the bank that the transaction was bogus, while the office also directed the governor State Bank of Pakistan to present a report on it.

According to a spokesman of the National Assembly, the SBP governor informed the NA speaker that it was a fake transaction. The NA spokesman clarified that Sardar Ayaz Sadiq had neither an account in the bank branch from this TDR was issued nor in any city where from this was released.

"The speaker had also given a task to the FIA to investigate it," said the NA spokesman.

Informed sources told Geo News on Thursday that the FIA investigators in Karachi have initiated their probe and have also seized relevant records of the SME bank linked to the bizarre series of events. The investigation agency is also probing the bank's senior management.

Earlier, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah, upon arrival in the opposition chamber, received fixed deposit bank receipt of Rs100 million under his name in the span of just a day.

The staff office of the opposition leader put before him the TDR (term deposit receipt) of the SME Bank mentioning the hefty amount. The opposition leader looked surprised as well as worried and expressed ignorance about the matter and instructed his staff to contact the relevant bank immediately on the subject.

When contacted, the bank officials declared the TDR to be bogus and said they did not issue any such deposit receipt. Following this, Khursheed Shah instructed his staff to write a letter to the Federal Investigation Agency.

Following the unusual scenario with the Senate Opposition Leader, Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani also received a receipt from an SME bank at his home in Karachi. The Senate chairman said that the receipt stated that he had deposited Rs100 million in the bank.

Mian Raza Rabbani ordered an inquiry into the matter, calling the receipt fake. "This receipt is fraud, I don't have an account in that bank," he said. The Senate chairman said that he had written a letter to the FIA and the board of the SME Bank.