KARACHI: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) arrested Shoaib Sheikh on Monday after the Sindh High Court turned down his protective bail application and approved the agency’s appeal against his acquittal in a money laundering case in 2016.
Sheikh is Axact’s founder and chief executive officer. His company claims to be an information technology firm, though it has been frequently accused of selling fake degrees to foreign nationals.
According to FIA officials, he illegally transferred Rs170.17 million to a Dubai-based firm in April 2014. This also became the basis of the money laundering case that was brought against him in lower courts. However, Sheikh had temporarily managed to find his way out of the crisis.
On Monday, the FIA arrested him in the same case. The Axact CEO remained inside the court for hours to avoid arrest. However, the agency officials whisked him away as soon as he stepped out of the building.
Axact found itself in the eye of the storm in 2015 after an American newspaper published an investigative piece against it. The story proved detrimental to the company and delayed the launch of its Urdu news channel.
More recently, the fake degree scandal reemerged after a British broadcaster revealed how the company had sold such certificates to more than three thousand UK nationals and subsequently blackmailed its buyers to make more money.
Axact CEO arrested in money laundering case
Axact CEO arrested in money laundering case
