ISLAMABAD: Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday issued notice to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for allegedly sidelining an inquiry pertaining to the “valuation fraud” in an alcohol import scam.
While issuing notice, Justice Malik Shahzad Ahmad Khan directed the Additional Director General North, FIA, to appear before the Court on January 26, 2023.
Ch Sarfaraz Ali Deyal, the Advocate for the petitioner Syed Amir Shabbir, had filed an application under section 3 & 4 of the Contempt of Court Ordinance 2013 and Article 204 of the Constitution against the additional director general FIA.
The petitioner claimed in his petition that he had submitted an application before the DG FIA and Chairman NAB against the corruption and illegal acts committed by the Customs officials in collusion with certain smugglers. The LHC had directed the additional director general (ADG) of the FIA to complete the inquiry within four weeks by June 3, 2022 but the ADG FIA failed to comply with the court direction.
It is pertinent to mention here that former deputy director customs Talib Hussain, on the directions of DG Post Clearance Audit, had conducted an audit of the company named “diplomatic bonds”.
Talib Hussain stated in his audit report that Alcohol worth Rs3 billion was illegally imported into Pakistan every year in the name of foreign missions or embassies working in Pakistan. The company owner, Saeed Ahmad, had also taken an alcohol import license in the name of Farances Shahzad but reportedly Shahzad did not know about it.
Reportedly, the customs department did not take any action against the fraudulent importer of alcohol. On the other hand, the customs department not only allegedly sidelined Talib Hussain as punishment for unearthing this scam but also dismissed the petitioner and whistle blower Amir Shabbir from government service.
According to the information, former additional director FIA Abubakar Khudabaksh had recommended registration of FIR against the import company’s owners and others but after the retirement of Abubakar, the FIA sidelined the enquiry and took no interest in its completion. Now, the court has summoned the FIA officials to explain their inaction on the court order.
