Another fake company loots over Rs240mn
from 700 people in GB
By Ghulam Abbas
ISLAMABAD: Over Rs200 million investment in a suspected online
company, Pay Diamond, by as many as 700 people in the Ghizer district of Gilgit
Baltistan has been unveiled. Through the investment, the alleged illegal
company has received more than Rs30 million in terms of commission and kickback
from the investors.
According to sources, a company doing online business has to
get a license from the National Security Exchange Commission of Pakistan
(NCECP), but Pay Diamond neither got the license nor a time frame for
investment. The company also lacks proper structure. The sources said that
majority of its investors were government’s retired officers.
The company is continuing a house-to-house campaign in order
to attract more investors and make more commission. Politicians, social workers
and people from other walks of life have demanded an inquiry into the company,
stating that if the company was legal, it should be allowed to work. They said
that if that is not the case, then the company is illegal and should be
immediately shut down.
After reports published in the regional media, local
officials said that the administration has taken notice of the company and
issued directives for conducting an investigation into the matter. He said the
government would not allow any company to loot the people. He ordered the concerned authorities to
trace the responsible persons of the company and interrogate them.
They vowed that the company would be shut downed immediately
if it was found fraudulent, saying there was a dire need to generate awareness
among the people about fake companies. He said it was the government’s
responsibility to protect the people against fraud and to crack down on illegal
and fake companies.
It is pertinent to mention here that in 2017, the National
Accountability Bureau (NAB) (Rawalpindi) arrested an official of a fraudulent
investment company, Big Board, from Karachi for a major financial scam in
Gilgit Baltistan.
The Karachi-based firm Big Board Advisory Service (Pvt) Ltd
had cheated thousands of people in GB by opening offices in various districts
and by promising a rate of return between 18 to 36 per cent per year on
investing money in the company for the year 2004–2005. The company then
abruptly closed its offices in the area as a large number of its investors
started demanding a return on their investments.
The firm operated much like a bank; opening saving accounts
for the customers. The affectees which largely included persons from the
middle-income class – mostly retired government employees and farmers – had
lost hope of receiving the returns when the government institutions, including
NAB, failed to arrest the culprits.
Talking to Pakistan Today, official sources at
NAB Islamabad, said that the accused, Big Board Advisory Service (Pvt) Ltd
Chief Executive, Abbas Haider Naqvi was arrested from Karachi where the
company’s head office is located. They further revealed that the directors of
the said company cunningly collected money from the general public by promising
a rate of return ranging from as low as 18 per cent to 36 per cent per year to
as high as 100 per cent to 150 per cent for an investment of 5 years.
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