KARACHI: The alleged mega money laundering scam upto the tunes of billions of rupees have finally entered into another stage where the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) have started search of assets and properties owned by the owners and nine other accused of Creek Marina project.

In latest updates of probe, after submitting an interim challan to the court, the FIA ​​has started hunting of the properties owned by the nine accused including Creek Marina Pakistan, Singapore & Meinhardt Singapore project owner Naseem Shahzad, his son CEO Umar Shahzad, Director Sadia Kashif, Nudrat Mand Khan, others and their families.

The investigation body have sought all necessary details from different concerned organizations and departments including KDA, Bahria Town, DHA, ABAD and others.

According to the details, FIA Banking Circle have registered a case number 14/2023 under Section 25 of the Anti-Money Laundering Act against all the accused.

The accused named in this case are project owners, shareholders, Creek Marina Singapore and Pakistan, MeinHardt Singapore owner Naseem Shehzad, his son CEO Umar Shehzad, Abdul Rahim son of Abdul Ghafoor, CFO Nudrat Mand Khan son of Shaukat Mand Khan, Sadia Kashif wife of Syed Kashif Khalid, Bankers Shahryar Khalid son of Khalid Majeed Khan, Faisal Hameed son of Abdul Hameed, Faisal Jameel Khan son of Jameeluddin Khan and Syed Ali Murad Naqvi son of Syed Ali Zaman Naqvi are included.

In this regard, the FIA ​​investigation officer have written a letter to various institutions and agencies across Pakistan including Bahria Town Karachi, Peshawar, Nawab Shah, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, MDA Karachi, KDA, DHA Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Chairman Abad, Inspector General Revenue Karachi, Registrar Cooperative Housing Societies Karachi, Registrar Properties Karachi, Clifton Cantonment Board Karachi, in which it is clearly stated that with the connivance of the bank officials, these accused opened and operated forged bank accounts illegally and in violation by setting aside the prescribed rules and regulations and the code of the conduct of the State Bank's Anti-Money Laundering, Board of Investment and others in the name of Creek Marina Pakistan and Singapore.

It is further alleged that huge amount was withdrawn from these accounts and the accused owners utilized that amount for their private gain and made several personal properties through that amount rather than spending that money in the construction of the project rightly.

FIA has urgently sought this information from all these institutions.

It should be noted that the scam of embezzling billions of rupees from citizens and investors in the name of Creek Marina residential project in DHA Phase 8 Karachi was unearthed. As per details, around 300 crores of rupees of fraud has taken place with only allottees all alone.

Instead of constructing the project, the owners embezzled the money for personal benefits and luxuries.

The owners of the project, Nasim Shahzad, the chairman of the Singaporean company MeinHardt, his son CEO Omar Shahzad, Sadia Kashif are still fugitives.

This project was announced to start in 2004 which till date could not be completed and no delivery has been made to anyone.

Sub-Inspector Nasrullah Khan, Investigating Officer of FIA Commercial Banking Circle Karachi, submitted the interim challan to the Banking Court on September 29. Nudrat Mand Khan was arrested on September 15 and is still in jail. Statements of DHA, Allottees and investors who were victims of fraud have also been recorded during the FIA ​​investigations. Further probe is underway.