Seven remanded in judicial custody in sugar scandal

A judicial magistrate remanded seven suspects to jail on Saturday as the Federal Investigation Agency submitted a progress report in a case pertaining to an alleged sugar price hike.

The suspects were arrested by the FIA’s commercial banking circle two weeks ago during a countrywide crackdown against sugar mill owners and dealers allegedly involved in the artificial increase in the commodity’s price.

The report submitted by the agency reads that the suspects procured sugar from 27 mills in the province; however, they had to confirm whether the product was ever moved to the market or not.

It says some of the sugar mills are owned by politicians and influential personalities, while all of them have already been issued with notices to submit the details about their financials.

According to the FIA, the sugar mafia earned Rs110 billion in a year by increasing the sugar price from Rs70 to Rs90 per kilo via satta (price-fixing through collusion), and stashed the illegally-earned money in fake and secret accounts.