LAHORE: The Federal Investigation Agency’s Commercial Banking Circle in Lahore has arrested a proclaimed offender wanted in a Rs4.5 million banking fraud. The suspect, identified as Muhammad Abubakar, is accused of preparing a forged pay order for a citizen’s Rs4.5 million and depositing the amount into his personal bank account.
An FIA spokesperson said further investigation was under way. The agency did not name the bank involved or say when the fraud took place.
According to the FIA, the arrested suspect prepared a counterfeit pay order worth Rs4.5 million belonging to a citizen and then deposited the amount into his personal bank account. He was declared a proclaimed offender, meaning a court had formally recorded that he was absconding. The FIA spokesperson said he was being questioned further.
A pay order is a banker’s instrument, issued by a bank against funds already deposited with it, and is widely treated as safer than a personal cheque because payment is guaranteed by the bank. That trust is what makes a forged one effective. The FIA has not said how the forgery passed the bank’s checks, whether any bank staff are under investigation, or whether the money has been recovered.
The arrest is one of a string of fraud cases handled by federal agencies in Lahore this month, including counterfeit goods and hawala-hundi arrests, the conviction of three men in a Rs19.39 million fake Barclays advertisement scam and the arrest of three serving customs officials in a Rs4.1 million fraud. Anyone receiving a pay order for a large transaction can protect themselves by confirming it directly with the issuing bank’s branch, using contact details obtained independently, before releasing goods or property.
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