ISLAMABAD: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has arrested the founder of Hascol Petroleum Limited (HPL) Mumtaz Hasan in a Rs54 billion scam, considered as one of the biggest financial frauds cases in the country.
According to a statement, FIA Sindh Zone Amir Farooqi said a total of 30 suspects including present and former top officials of the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), HPL and other organisations had been booked in the case and efforts were underway to arrest them.
The defendants in the case include two former presidents of the NBP and board of directors of Hascol Petroleum and partner companies. Deputy Director FIA Commercial Banking Circle Rabia Qureshi conducted the investigation while Sub-Inspector Zeeshan Sheikh filed the case.
The FIA Sindh’s chief described the scam as the “country’s biggest financial fraud” that was committed by the HPC in connivance with the NBP’s top management and those of other commercial banks, who would be investigated separately.
The investigation revealed that from 2015 to 2020 funded and non-funded financial facilities were granted to the HPL by the NBP in violation of banking laws, practices, which amount to criminal breach of trust causing wrongful loss to the NBP/national exchequer and wrongful gain to HPL.
The agency conducted an inquiry said the total amount of default stood at Rs54bn, of which Rs18bn pertained to the NBP alone. Farooqi said Hascol’s credit line was increased by NBP presidents and credit group officials from Rs2bn to Rs18bn against ‘weak securities’.
The NBP’s credit heads, namely Reema Athar and Irtiza Kazmi, were the ‘key players’ in the episode. Athar was a director at the Clover Pvt Ltd, a company owned by Saleem Butt, a co-accused, and also served as a director on the board of the Fossils Energy, a subsidiary of Saleem Butt’s company.
The NBP opened fake letters of credit (LCs) to the tune of Rs95bn for Hascol in favour of Byco petroleum. The official said Byco’s part (now named Cnergyico) will be investigated as a separate criminal inquiry.
Apart from the NBP, several other banks opened non-product LCs to the tune of Rs54bn for Hascol. “Hascol and another company Vitol (exclusive supplier of POL products to HPL) through over-invoicing transferred $42 million illegally outside Pakistan,” saidFarooqi.
He alleged that “Hascol siphoned off funds through fake contractors to the tune of Rs117 million”. In addition to possible money laundering, the FIA is also looking into possibility of tax evasion by Hascol of up to Rs5bn.
During the investigation, it was revealed that fake LCs were opened worth more than Rs 540 billion in 19 different banks between Hascol Petroleum and Byco Petroleum. FIA added that more arrests and revelations will be made soon sand further investigation is underway.
