LAHORE, Sept 15: The Lahore High Court on Monday ordered the freezing of accounts and properties of a forex exchange company, Still Rich, besides placing the names of its directors on the Exit Control List.

Justice Nasim Sikandar referred the matter to the NAB when informed that the company was not registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan and had been carrying out an illegal business of foreign exchange.

The NAB was also asked to hold a probe into the allegations that the Still Rich was involved in over Rs1 billion fraud.

Petitioners Farhat Sultana and Saira Yousaf had alleged that the company had plundered their $30,000 in the name of foreign exchange business while it was already involved in over Rs1 billion fraud.

They alleged that Still Rich directors — Asim Karim, Chand Pervaiz, Mohammed Nasim, Umar Farooq — had played the pivotal role in the fraud while other directors had absconded abroad after the plunder.

The court was requested to take notice of the escape of the rest of the directors.

The court also fixed Sept 29 for the hearing of the cases filed by the SECP against other forex companies.

The court had so far frozen the accounts of seven forex companies and placed the names of their directors on ECL.

NOTICE: The High Court issued a notice to the State Bank of Pakistan and the United Bank Ltd on a petition, accusing the latter of reducing the promised profit ratio on its Uni Sona Deposit Scheme without any justification.

Mohammed Ashraf submitted that according to an advertisement published in newspapers at the launch of the scheme during 1993, the depositors were to earn an annual return at the ratio of 26 per cent on their investments which were to become three-fold within seven years.

However, the UBL reduced the profit rates in 1999 without the disclosure of any reasons.