KARACHI: Two children declared their elderly mother dead to fraudulently claim Rs25 million insurance from a United States company.
Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Human Trafficking Cell is investigating the unusual case of insurance fraud in Karachi whereby a brother and sister declared their own mother dead to claim the amount. The FIA has dispatched teams in various parts of the city and is making efforts to arrest them.
The case of insurance fraud was lodged on December 1. According to the FIA, Fahad Saleem and Faria Saleem declared their mother Seema Saleem as dead and then managed to secure a hefty claim of Rs25 million from an insurance company.
In 2009, their mother had bought two insurance policies from an American insurance company. The children had submitted their mother’s death certificate on 8th June 2013. The incident came to light when their mother applied for a passport at the US consulate in 2019.
The US Consulate-General’s Assistant Regional Security had submitted a written request to the FIA. Even after her presumed ‘death’, the woman travelled with her son to ten different countries.
The bogus death certificate of their mother was issued from Union Council No. 6 Shah Baig Lane in Lyari. The death certificate was given by Mumtaz Ali while Lyari General Hospital medical officer Dr Hussain Akhtar supported him. The cause of death was declared as cardiac arrest and the receipt of a grave from Fisherman Moorna graveyard was also provided.
After receiving the insurance amount, Fahad Saleem went on a tour across Pakistan. He also set up two bank accounts in Karachi for the funds’ transfer in Dhoraji and Jheel Park. The case investigation officer has submitted the FIR in court and the initial challan will be filed after two weeks.
