PESHAWAR: An accountability court here on Monday sentenced two persons to four years rigorous imprisonment with a collective fine of Rs36 million for cheating public on pretext of investments in a company.

Judge Shahid Khan ruled that the prosecution had proved its case against the two accused, namely Naseem Gul and Kashif Zeb, and evidence on record connected them with the commission of the offence.

The court fined Gul with Rs19.87 million and Zeb with Rs16.294 million, respectively.

A reference was filed against the convicts by the National Accountability Bureau, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, under the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999.

The convicts ran a finance company and lured several people into making investments in the fake Mudaraba business or Islamic mode of investment, and promised exorbitant profits to them. The convicts were arrested by NAB in March 2015 from Hangu district, where they had been running their fake business. Later, they were released on bail by the Peshawar High Court.

Following their arrest, several affected people had filed complaints with the NAB, seeking action against them.

Published in Dawn, September 14th, 2021