Trader, accomplice handed over to FIA for three days in fraud case

A judicial magistrate on Tuesday extended the physical remand of a local trader by three days in a case pertaining to allegedly defrauding a Chinese company.

The magistrate also granted the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) a three-day remand of the trader’s alleged accomplice for questioning. Trader Syed Zeeshan Afzaal Bilgrami has been booked for allegedly defrauding a Chinese importer by exporting 60 containers filled with clay, gravel and stones instead of chrome ore.

The investigation officer produced Zeeshan before Judicial Magistrate (South) Kashif Bhatti on the completion of his physical remand and requested an extension of his remand for further interrogation. He also presented Javed Mahmood, who has been arrested recently, before the court and sought his 14-day remand.

According to the IO, Javed Mahmood assisted Zeeshan in preparing fraudulent SGS Inspection Certificate of Quality used to encash the Letter of Credit. The officer said that Zeeshan’s further remand was needed for interrogation about preparation of bogus documents. On the other hand, Zeeshan’s lawyer opposed the FIA’s remand plea, stating that the suspect had already been in the agency’s custody for five days and that there was no need to further hand his custody over to the FIA.

However, the magistrate approved three-day physical remand of the suspects and directed the IO to produce them on its completion along with a progress report. According to the content of the FIR, M/s Danzu Traders, owned by Zeeshan, and M/s Jiangsu Provincial Foreign Trade Corporation China had signed a purchase and sales contract, under which Danzu Traders agreed to export 1,500 metric tons of chrome ore lumpy. On February 11, 2024, the local trader, after completing all formalities, sent a consignment of 20-foot 60 bulk containers stuffed with zero-valued goods i.e. clay, gravel and stones, instead of chrome ore from the Karachi port to the Xingang Port.

It alleged that before the shipment reached China, Zeeshan fraudulently executed the Letter of Credit and embezzled the export proceeds amounting to $413,293.

The FIA said the inspection certificate of quality and weight deposit submitted by the suspect with the bank for executing the LC in his favour turned out to be fabricated and bogus. The export proceeds received in the trader’s account converted to Rs113,886,298.29 after deduction of taxes, it added. “Syed Zeeshan Afzaal Bilgrami not only committed an export fraud but also committed a banking fraud by submitting forged, fabricated and bogus documents for executing the Letter of Credit [LC] in its favour. He not merely defrauded the Chinese importer but also brought a bad name to the nation,” said the FIA.