LAHORE: The British authorities have rejected the asylum plea of a Pakistani proclaimed offender couple wanted in a number of fraud cases.

Asim Malik and his wife Zobia Rubab – owners of Future Concerns Ltd (a visa consultancy firm) -- had allegedly defrauded a large number of Pakistanis on the pretext of securing immigration and visas for the US, the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and some European countries for them.

About 200 people have so far filed claims amounting to Rs540 million with the Federal Investigation Agency against the couple.

“It is because of the effort of the FIA that the British authorities have rejected the asylum plea of the wanted couple,” FIA Director (Lahore region) Dr Usman Anwar told Dawn here on Wednesday.

He said the FIA had written to the British National Crime Agency (NCA) about the crime of Asim Malik and his wife and sought their arrest.

“We have been in contact with the British government and hopefully we will get the couple extradited in a third country to bring them back home,” he said.

The FIA director said the director Europe had been appointed a focal person to pursue this case with regard to the extradition of the couple. There has been no extradition treaty between Pakistan and the UK. The couple is said to have chosen to flee to the UK, thinking they would be out of reach of Pakistani authorities there because of legal complications in their deportation.

Asim Malik made millions of dollars and fled to the UK allegedly with the help of a ‘powerful minister’ of the previous government despite his name on the Exit Control List early last year. Many former bureaucrats, army men and businessmen are among those defrauded by the Future Concerns.

Asim Malik has also featured in a video controversy in which Punjab Sports Minister Rana Mashhood is seen talking about funding to the PML-N government and passing comments on Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Hamza Shahbaz. The controversy cost Mashhood his additional portfolio of law.

Dr Usman Anwar further said the FIA had unearthed 398-kanal land of the wanted couple in Bhera which was going to be auctioned by the Sargodha DCO.

“We anticipate Rs100 million from the sale of the land and will distribute the amount among the fraud victims,” he said, adding the FIA was also making efforts to locate the couple’s property which they bought in the name of their relatives.

Asim Malik was first booked by the FIA about a decade ago for defrauding over a dozen of people but he got away by managing to clear all legal hurdles.

Published in Dawn, October 30th, 2014