Lahore: A special court (offenses in banks) on Wednesday sentenced four accused to 30 years’ imprisonment each in a Rs 598 million Habib Bank Limited (HBL) fraud case.
Special Court Judge Mian Shahzad Raza also imposed substantial fines on the convicts after finding them guilty.
The court sentenced Qasim Raza Bukhari to 30 years in prison and imposed a fine of Rs7. 39 million. Branchless banking agent Jehanzeb was awarded 30 years’ imprisonment and fined Rs15. 2019 million.
Accused Mehran was sentenced to 30 years in prison with a fine of Rs1. 36 million, while Haris Abbasi received 30 years’ imprisonment and was fined Rs10 million.
The court ruled that each convict would have to undergo an additional seven-and-a-half years in prison in case of non-payment of the imposed fine.
The Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) Corporate Banking Circle (CBC), Lahore, had registered Case No. 78/2023 against the accused under Sections 406, 419, 420, 468, 471 and 109 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).
According to the FIA, the accused illegally transferred funds through the Konnect app without the required balance.
FIA Lahore Zone Assistant Director Legal Kiran Mueen successfully established the charges against the accused during the trial.
