GUJRANWALA, April 13: A man was arrested in Wazirabad on Friday for allegedly running an illegal banking system that drew thousands of depositors from central Punjab. A joint raid by police, National Accountability Bureau and intelligence agencies on the house of Syed Sibtul Hassan yielded around Rs170 million in local and foreign currencies.

The accused came to be known as ‘Double Shah’ for doubling deposits within 70 days, a mark-up of 43 per cent per month. The minimum deposit required by him was Rs50,000.

DIG police Khadim Hussain Bhatti said at a news conference that 20 bank accounts of the accused containing Rs250 million had been frozen. The accused owned six hotels and apartments in Dubai and owned a fuel station and real estate agencies in Wazirabad. “His accounts have been frozen. His assets will be sold to make payments to his 3,000 depositors,” the DIG said, adding that Hassan’s property in Dubai would be confiscated with the help of Interpol.

The announcement, however, failed to address the concerns of the depositors who blocked the GT Road near Wazirabad for several hours and condemned the police action. Police fired teargas-shells and used batons to clear the road. The DIG said a case had been registered against Sibtul Hassan by Wazirabad police.