Islamabad High Court (IHC) has ordered the recovery of assets belonging to a convicted manager of a private bank to ensure a full refund of over Rs 20 million to a visually impaired woman who fell victim to a massive financial fraud.
A division bench comprising Justice Muhammad Azam Khan and Justice Raja Inam Amin Minhas issued the directives during the hearing of a miscellaneous petition filed by the victim Ms Darakhshan Mirza.
The court rejected the convict’s appeal against his sentence and ordered the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to confiscate two vehicles belonging to the fraudulent manager Ramiz Javed to settle the remaining outstanding liabilities.
During the court proceedings, Assistant Attorney General Azmat Bashir Tarar updated the bench on the recovery status, confirming that a primary sum of Rs 15.9 million had already been retrieved.
Furthermore, a cheque worth Rs 2.8 million was secured recently, followed by another cheque of Rs 530,000, bringing the total recovered amount to over Rs 19.2 million. The state counsel assured the court that the fraudster’s two vehicles would be seized by authorities within a week.
The court ordered the confiscation of the two vehicles specifically to bridge the remaining gap and ensure that the victim is paid back every single rupee of the original defrauded sum of more than Rs 20 million.
The convict, who is currently incarcerated in Adiala Jail, was previously sentenced to five years in prison by a trial court after being found guilty of embezzling more than Rs 20 million from Ms Mirza. Following the rejection of his appeal, the IHC reiterated that full recovery of the stolen funds must be executed alongside the prison term.
Appearing before the rostrum, the visually impaired petitioner expressed her profound gratitude to the bench, thanking both judges for delivering justice. The IHC has sought a comprehensive compliance report from the FIA regarding the asset seizures and adjourned the case until 7 July.
