ACE initiates inquiry into fake calls using chairman’s name for bribes

The Enquiries and Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) of the Sindh government has taken serious notice of fake phone calls made in the name of its chairman to officers of different provincial departments and authorities, including the Karachi Development Authority (KDA), and initiated an inquiry into the matter under cybercrime laws.

In a press statement issued on Saturday, ACE Chairman Dr Nawaz Shaikh said some fraudulent people through a four-digit web-based number had called officers of different provincial departments, authorities such as the KDA, autonomous bodies and semi-government departments and demanded bribes on the ACE chairman’s behalf.

The statement said ACE never made phone calls for any inquiry or complaints to officers because when it entertained any complaint, there was an official procedure prescribed for that under which call-up notices were issued to the officials concerned after initial inquiries.

The fake calls in the name of the ACE chairman are aimed at defaming the department and tarnishing its image, the statement said.

It added that ACE had initiated an inquiry into the matter on its own as well as through the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) so that such unscrupulous elements could be lawfully dealt with.

The ACE chairman has also urged officers of all the provincial departments to file their complaints related to the fake calls on phone numbers 021-99211891, 99211251, Fax 021-99218226 or to their legal director Naeem Khanzada.