Fuuast, KU employees made millions through exam fraud: FIA

Karachi

Officials of the Federal Investigation Agency have said that eight employees of the Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science and Technology (Fuuast) and Karachi University (KU) have admitted making millions through an exam fraud.

More than Rs20 million have been found in the accounts of three of the eight employees nominated in an FIR (No.14/2016) lodged by Inspector Mohammad Iqbal of the FIA’s Corporate Crime Circle Karachi.  The men named in the case are Computer Operator Khalid Wali, Composer Syed Wajahat Ali and Office Assistant Mohammad Shehzad Rafiq of Fuuast, Computer Operator Zain Nabi, Computer Operator Mohammad Subhan and Clerk Kamal of the KU, Clerk Mohammad Yonus and Lab Assistant Mohammad Sheikh of Islamia Arts and Commerce College and agents Hafiz Mirza Arsalan Baig and Hafiz Mohammad Dilawar Hussain.

Eight accused are in custody while Khalid Wali and Hafiz Mohammad Dilawar Hussain are still at large.

During the investigations, the FIA officials learnt that in the year 2014, 1,013 private candidates registered with Fuuast for BCom examinations, and 917 candidates appeared in the exams. Of the 917 candidates, 269 were declared passed, 548 were declared failed and 96 candidates were shown absent, but in the college register only 11 candidates were shown as absent. 

Later, in collusion with each other 107 candidates who were either absent or failed the exams were declared passed and the accused got millions of rupees for manipulating the results. Also, the results of 32 more students were manipulated and irrelevant students were declared passed.

The three accused in custody disclosed their accounts in which more than 20 million were deposited. A total of Rs8.66 were found deposited in two accounts of Zain Nabi -- Rs4.4 6 million in UBL University Branch and Rs4.19 million in a JS Bank’s Shaheen Complex Branch. In two accounts of Khalid Wali, Rs14.39 million were found – Rs4.67 million in NBP Kutchery Road Branch and Rs 9.71 million in Burj Bank MA Jinnah Road Branch. In Syed Wajahat Ali’s account in Burj Bank BFT Branch, Rs1.27 million were found.

The investigating officer is confident that more disclosures are expected in future and more arrests will be made.

Most of the students who got the fake degrees had earlier been declared failed in Karachi University examinations and the KU employees and agents had persuaded them to get “genuine degrees” from the Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science and Technology. The students gave them hefty amounts to get the degrees.