FIA to complete Axact fake degree investigation in 17 days

KARACHI: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) will complete its investigation report into the Axact fake degree scam in 17 days, senior FIA official Shahid Hayat told reporters on Sunday.

"We are given 17 days for investigation. The report will be completed in 17 days and submitted to court," Hayat told reporters at a press conference in Karachi.

The FIA director general said that the FIA had already recovered "enough documentary proof to go to court" against the accused company.

"I am confirming this as a prosecutor in this case that, through documents and internal emails, we have proof" to proceed in court with further charges against Axact, he said.

Hayat did not give detailed information, saying he would only give answer questions for which the FIA has detailed supporting evidence.

"What I will say or share with you here today will be completely backed by documentary proof. I will not shoot darts in the air or answer any other questions. Even at this moment, we have enough documentary proof to go to the court and prove it in the court of law," he said.

Karachi-based Axact became the centre of a massive scandal when the New York Times published an investigative story accusing the IT firm of running an elaborate scam and reaping millions of dollars by selling bogus academic diplomas online.

The FIA has since launched an investigation into the allegations, seizing and analysing the company's computers and records and arresting its CEO, Shoaib Shaikh, along with other top employees.

Earlier this week, the FIA said it recovered hundreds of thousands of fake diplomas, certificates and student identity cards in a raid on the company's Karachi headquarters.

When asked by a reporter today how many fake degrees had been recovered in raids on Axact's offices, he said he could not confirm the exact number at the moment.

He added that the FIA has not yet been contacted by any foreign investigative authority.