KARACHI: The Sindh High Court has directed a banking court to accept supplementary charge sheets filed by the Federal Investigation Agency in a bank fraud case.

The FIA had booked banker Bandagi Nasir Jameel Farooqui and Irfan Ismail for misappropriating an amount of over Rs120.8 million in the year 2013-14 with the active connivance of their wives as well as their close relatives through fake correspondences, fraudulent transactions, and transfer of amount via fake bank accounts.

The embezzled amount belonged to granddaughter of Nawab of Bahawalpur Ayesha Malvina Abbasi.

The FIA lodged a case in 2015 and after conducting investigation and tracing out the money trail of misappropriated amount, the investigating officer filed two supplementary charge sheets against the main accused Farooqui and Irfan Ismail, who were absconders, and others.

However, the judge of a banking court returned both charge sheets in September 2016 after disagreeing with the IO.

Thereafter, Ms Abbasi through her lawyer Advocate Yawar Farooqui had filed two criminal revision applications before the SHC and challenged the order of the banking court’s judge.

After hearing both sides, a division bench of the SHC headed by Justice Mohammad Iqbal Kalhoro allowed the pleas and directed the presiding officer of the trial court to admit the charge sheets.

Published in Dawn, September 6th, 2018