KARACHI: Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has arrested Axact CEO Shoaib Shaikh soon after Sindh High Court (SHC) on Monday rejected his protective bail plea in money laundering case.
The protective bail plea was dismissed by Justice Naimatullah Phulpoto.
Shoaib Shaikh was arrested by FIA outside the court and was shifted to its headquarters.
Earlier, SHC accepted the appeal of FIA against acquittal of Axact CEO Shoaib Sheikh in money laundering case and directed the lower court to conduct retrial and decide the case within three months.
After the order, the FIA sought to arrest Sheikh but he rushed inside the courtroom.
His lawyers insisted that he should not be arrested as the SHC has not ordered his arrest and be allowed to approach the court to seek protective bail.
The Supreme Court had earlier this month directed the SHC and the Islamabad High Court hearing the Axact fake degree cases to wrap up the appeals against the acquittal of suspects in a matter of weeks.
Aggrieved with the acquittal of Axact CEO and director M/s Chanda exchange Mohammad Younus and branch manager Mohammad Junaid in a money laundering case, FIA appealed against the acquittal of the accused without framing of charge and recording of the prosecution evidence by the trial court in 2016. The FIA pleaded to set aside the acquittal.
According to the FIA, accused Shoaib Sheikh opened an account in a bank in the name of his mother and while using mandate in his own name, issued 116 cheques through his own signatures in favour of vendors of a Dubai based company allegedly owned by the accused.
The cheques were delivered by the Axact employees to the co-accused directors and branch manager of M/s Chanda Exchange though there were no business deal between the two. The FIA submitted that the trial court failed to appreciate the evidence which was not denied by the accused connecting the accused with the illegal money transfer which is punishable under foreign exchange regulation Act. The FIA submitted that Axact transferred over Rs.170 million to Dubai based vendors through M/s Chanda exchange.
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