Prime suspect in Rs8.5bn Yellow Line graft scam arrested in another corruption case

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KARACHI: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has arrested former Yellow Line project director Zameer Ahmed Abbasi in another corruption case after he got bail in a Rs8.5bn graft case, it emerged on Friday.

The FIA produced the suspect before District and Session Judge (South) Zahoor Ahmed Hakro and sought his custody for interrogation.

The court granted five-day remand of Abbasi, a grade-19 officer of the Sindh government, and directed the investigating officer of the case to produce him again on Sept 22 along with a comprehensive progress report regarding the investigation of the case.

A case was registered under Section 4 (restrictions on dealing in foreign exchange), 5 (restrictions on payments), 8 (restrictions on import and export of certain currency and bullion), 23 (penalty and procedure) of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1947 read with 109 (abetment) and 34 (common in intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code at the FIA’s Commercial Banking Circle (CBC) police station.

Zameer Abbasi remanded in FIA custody for five days

According to the FIR, the CBC got ‘credible information’ that Mr Abbasi, a resident of DHA, illegally shifted huge funds from the accounts of the provincial government to his own bank accounts abroad for which purpose he had frequently visited the UAE, Maldives, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Thailand, Turkey and the US.

The agency alleged that he was also involved in “irregularities relating to cooperative society elections”.

The suspect also got 1,103 currency transactions of huge amounts from his father’s and wife’s accounts during the period from 2012 to 2026.

Mr Abbasi has been booked in a case pertaining to alleged Rs8.5bn corruption in Bus Rapid Transit Yellow Line construction contracts.

The Sindh High Court had granted him post-arrest bail a couple of days ago, but he was re-arrested outside the prison.

Published in Dawn, September 19th, 2026

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