KARACHI: The Federal Investigation Agency on Saturday arrested a former employee of the SME Bank for his alleged involvement in preparing fake bank accounts and term deposit reports (TDRs) in the name of some top politicians, including the speaker of the National Assembly.

On Jan 18, National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani, opposition leaders in the NA and the Senate Syed Khurshid Shah and Aitzaz Ahsan as well as Maulana Fazlur Rehman had claimed that fake bank accounts had been opened in their names and transactions worth tens of millions of rupees had been made from the accounts they did not operate.

The NA speaker had ordered the governor of the State Bank of Pakistan and the FIA director general to investigate the matter.

The commercial banking circle of the FIA arrested suspect Atiq-ur-Rehman, a former employee of the SME Bank, whose service was terminated because of his alleged involvement in a fraud, for “issuance of fake TDRs to different parliamentarians”, said a brief statement of the FIA.

FIA sources told Dawn that the held suspect had prepared fake TDRs in the name of various parliamentarians and dispatched the same to them in order to frame his former boss, Barkat Ali Lashari, who got him dismissed last year.

They said that Mr Lashari, the chief manager of the SME Bank, had filed a complaint against suspect Rehman with the FIA that he allegedly prepared “fake pay order and guarantee” in the name of the Civil Aviation Authority some six months ago. The suspect was arrested, but later enlarged on bail.

The sources said that the held suspect had issued the TDRs by forging Mr Lashari’s signature.

When investigators approached Mr Lashari he provided a clue about the possible suspect. The FIA carried out a raid in Gulshan-i-Iqbal, arrested suspect Rehman and claimed to have seized TDRs from his house.

They said that the held suspect was a business graduate.

A case was registered against him under Sections 409 (criminal breach of trust by banker), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document), 477 (falsification of accounts), 109 (abetment) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

Published in Dawn, January 22nd, 2017