FIA has recently detected Rs110 billion earning by the proactive sugar mafia in the country over the last year through ‘speculative pricing’ and has initiated actions against them.
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The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has issued notices to all the 40 speculative pricing agents directing them to appear before a combined investigation team before its Lahore bureau along with details of their declared and non-declared assets and bank accounts, details of declarations made in the amnesty schemes till date among other things.
The FIA had earlier arrested three brokers Dayaldas, Santosh Kumar, and Raj Kumar in Karachi. “All three have been involved in sugar satta dealings,” FIA officials said. “The accused used social media forums and fake bank accounts for their activities,” FIA Karachi said.
Following this, yesterday, the agency has arrested four more people.
Reportedly, the agency has also approached financial institutions like banks and money exchange brokers to get details of the transactions made by sugar mills and the agents for the past year.
The investigation agency has got remand of the accused and is questioning them in the probe, the spokesperson said. “FIA Commercial Banking Circle had formed an investigation team after reports about the sugar speculating pricing mafia activities for the illegal hike in the commodity’s rate in the open market,” FIA spokesperson earlier said.
It must be noted that the FIA Lahore chapter informed FIA Karachi about 23 persons involved in the sugar Satta scam operating in Karachi. In a letter to the FIA chapter in Karachi, the FIA Lahore has highlighted the role of the sugar satta mafia in an illegal hike in the price of sugar across the country.
Reportedly, Malik Abad of the JWD group has been summoned on March 30 and Malik Majid of the same group on March 31st, Mustansar Gogi of Ramzan and Al-Arabia Sugar Mills on March 31st, Sheikh Amir Waheed of the Chaudhry Sugar Mills on 1st April, Asad Bhaiya of RYK Sugar group on April 2 and Aslam Bhalli of the Sharif Shamim Kanjwani group on March 30 besides others.
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The FIR has claimed that if someone fails to appear, the arrest would be made according to the procedure.