Another missing official of the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA), Deputy Director Muhammad Usman — who was reportedly abducted from Islamabad earlier this month — has turned out to be in the custody of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in connection with a case of misusing authority and extortion[1], it emerged on Thursday.
Last week, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) granted[2] the police one more week to trace Usman. The development came during the hearing of a petition filed by Rozina Usman for the recovery of her husband. She alleged that four armed individuals abducted her husband on October 14.
However, according to an Oct 29 short order from Lahore Judicial Magistrate Naeem Wattoo, Usman was in the FIA’s custody and remanded to three days in physical custody with directions to produce him before the district court on Saturday.
According to the remand request from the FIA’s investigating officer, the NCCIA official was arrested on Wednesday in connection with a case of colluding with other NCCIA officials, misusing their authority and extorting bribes.
Usman was nominated in the case registered on Monday by Aroob Jatoi, the wife of YouTuber Saadur Rehman alias Ducky Bhai, who was arrested in a case[3] pertaining to promoting gambling apps on social media.
Apart from Usman, six NCCIA officials from Lahore and Islamabad NCCIA Deputy Director Ayaz Khan and Inspector Salman Aziz were also nominated in the case.
The first information report (FIR) was registered under Sections 109 (punishment for abetment if the act abetted is committed in consequence and where no express provision is made for its punishment) and 161 (public servant taking gratification other than legal remuneration in respect to an official act) of the Pakistan Penal Code, read with Section 5(2)47 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, which deals with criminal misconduct by public servants.
It stated that the NCCIA had arrested Rehman and the inquiry into his case was assigned to Lahore NCCIA Assistant Director Shoaib Riaz.
The FIR said it was found during the inquiry that Riaz “misused his authority” to “extort Rs9m” through his frontmen from Rehman’s family. It was further alleged in the FIR that Riaz also colluded with Rehman’s lawyer, Chaudhry Usman, for this purpose.
According to the FIR, Riaz extorted Rs6m on the pretext of “providing relief to Aroob Jatoi” and another Rs3m for Rehman’s judicial remand, who had been on physical remand.
In August, Riaz extorted Rs6m in cash through his frontman, Aziz, in Sheikhapura, while the remaining Rs3m was obtained via three cheques of Rs1m each through another frontman identified as Shehbaz, the FIR alleged.
It added that Riaz gave Rs5m to a friend of Lahore NCCIA Deputy Director (acting in-charge) Zawar Ahmed’s for safekeeping, while Rs500,000 was given to Salman Aziz, lawyer Chaudhry Usman and Additional Director Sarfaraz each.
Riaz himself kept Rs2m, the FIR said, adding that it was also found during the inquiry that he had transferred $326,420 from Rehman’s account to his own via Binance.
“During the inquiry, the suspects were found guilty of deceiving detained Saadur Rehman’s family about providing him relief and misusing their authority,” the FIR stated. “It was also found during the inquiry that the suspects were operating as a network and misusing their authorities, taking bribes in cash monthly for facilitating call centres, aggregate companies and individuals involved in online fraud. After keeping their shares, they would give the rest of the amount to the higher-ups.”
Officers at the NCCIA headquarters were sent these amounts via Muhammad Usman and Ayaz, the two NCCIA deputy directors in Islamabad, according to the FIR. Sarfaraz and Zawar in Lahore would hand over Rs 1m to the two officials in Islamabad almost every month, and the latter would then transfer it to the higher-ups, the FIR said.
It added that FIA’s Lahore Anti-Corruption Circle Assistant Director Syed Zainul Abideen was assigned the investigation of the case.