KARACHI:The property in which the investigation of a fake degree scam against M/s Axact was being carried out by the Federal Investigation Agency does not belong to Axact anymore, the additional attorney general of the province told the Sindh High Court on Thursday.
The court was hearing the application of Axact for the possession of the Axact building situated in the DHA area. The court had earlier dismissed the petition of Axact against freezing of its company directors and employees accounts and sealing of its office. Axact had filed an application submitting that the court,while dismissing the petition,had observed in the orderthat FIA shall complete the investigation as well as retrieval of data from computers of Axact,so that the petitioner would be entitled to have an access to areas in property where such computers of petitioners were installed. The counsel of Axact submitted that despite the completion of the investigation and submission of the charge sheet before the trial court, the possession of the building was not being given to the petitioner by the FIA.
Additional Attorney General Salman Talibuddin submitted documents before the court pertainingto the ownership of the building and said that the property in which the investigation was being carried out by the FIA does not belong to the petitioner anymore and it was now the property of the Defence Officers Housing Authority. He submitted that the ownership of the properties hadbeen transferred in the name of DHA by the seller Axact CEO Shoaib Ahmed Sheikh prior to filing of instant application and, therefore, theequipment could not be handed over to the petitioner due to further investigation.
He further submitted that an investigation was also being carried out in SaudiArabia and the United States against Axact, referring documents of the US and Saudi authorities with regard to fake online degree scam. According to the documents submitted before the court, the FIA had sent a memo to the US Federal Bureau of Investigation regarding verification of the authentication bodies/institutes of alleged universities issuingonline degrees. The FBI investigation concluded that the list of universities sent by the FIA did not have a proper accreditation to issue legitimate degrees which are endorsed by the US Department of Education-authorized US accreditation board. It further stated that all of the provided universities were linked to the alleged online fraudulent activity involving fake degrees and illegitimate diploma producing organisations. Besides, the Saudi Embassy also sent a complaint to Pakistan’s Foreign Office with regard to its citizenHussain Al-Ahmed, who has been a victim of online degree scam of Axact.
The SHC’s division bench, headed by Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, directed the additional attorney general to file the documents before the court along with a proper statement and adjourned the hearing till April 20.
It is pertinent to mention here that the FIA mentioned in the complaint that proceeds of the crime hadbeen integrated by Shoaib Ahmed Sheikh and Viqas Atiq in the economy of the country by purchasing various assets such as propertiesand vehicles, showing them legitimate businesses and the offence of money laundering under Section 3 and 4 of the AML Act has been committed.
The FIA alleged that proceeds of crime hadbeen utilised in meeting out expenditure for running the affairs of Axact and Axact CEO has laundered the process of crime by investing the funds indifferent front businessenterprises.