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In November 2008 Munaf Kalia (CEO of Khanani and Kalia International (Pvt.) Ltd.), Yusuf Kalia, and associates, were charged with illegally transferring funds from Pakistan to Afghanistan. [1] In light of the charges, the State Bank of Pakistan revoked the license for Khanani and Kalia International to operate its foreign exchange business and shut down its offices.
On March 5, 2011, the directors of Khanani and Kailia International and four bankers were acquitted of all charges due to lack of evidence. The judge cited the prosecution's failure to present evidence that directly implicated the defendants. [2]
Since the depreciation of the rupee from July 2007, the Federal Investigation Agency was investigating the unexpected depreciation by the orders of the Pakistani government. In November 2008, the government sought support from Interpol with whose help the FIA cracked down all over Pakistan searching for persons involved in illegal smuggling of US dollars outside Pakistan. [3] The FIA conducted raids in various parts of Karachi detained more than 12 people including Munaf Kalia, and ten officials of the National Database Registration Authority suspected of providing counterfeit identity cards. [1] Manaf Kalia appeared in the court of Omar Awan, judicial magistrate South Karachi on November 9, 2008. The FIA sought and obtained a remand to Lahore to face another charge.
The Special Civil Court of Lahore, ordered that more than 14 names of different people involved in the forex scam case be included in the Exit Control List (ECL) of Pakistan.
On November 10, 2008, the State Bank of Pakistan suspended the licence of Khanani and Kalia for 30 days and debarred KKI's head office, branches, franchises payment booths and currency exchange booths from undertaking any kind of business for violating its rules and regulations. [4]
On December 10, 2008, the State Bank of Pakistan suspended the licence of Khanani and Kalia for an indefinite period of time. The suspension order further stated that the company's headquarter, branch offices and/or franchise cannot carry any business dealings. [5]
In August 2009, a second foreign exchange company in Pakistan Zarco Exchange was accused of similar allegations and also had its license revoked and forced to shut down.
In December 2010, the Special Court (offences in banking) Lahore said that due to lack of evidence it saw no reason that Zarco Exchange should not request a revival of its license from the State Bank of Pakistan, and in February 2011, its CEO was released by the Pakistan Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) after it said it decided to no longer pursue the case. [6] In April 2011, Zarco Exchange's license was restored and the business started operating again.
On March 5, 2011, the directors of Khanani and Kailia International and four bankers were acquitted of all charges due to lack of evidence. [2] However, the FIA complained about the acquittal and said it had provided enough evidence. In response, the Supreme Court of Pakistan had an independent judge investigate the acquittal. [7] Following the acquittal, a separate action by the FIA appeared to have failed due to mistakes that meant evidence provided to the court was missing important information. [8]
The government's action against Hawala trade, which involves international network of currency dealers for making unrecorded payments in each other's countries, was one step in the series of the forex scam case. [9] [10] These steps were taken at a time when the rupee depreciated by 30 percent against the dollar since the beginning of 2008.
Hawala or hewala, originating in India as havala, also known as havaleh in Persian, and xawala or xawilaad in Somali, is a popular and informal value transfer system based on the performance and honour of a huge network of money brokers. They operate outside of, or parallel to, traditional banking, financial channels and remittance systems. The system requires a minimum of two hawaladars that take care of the "transaction" without the movement of cash or telegraphic transfer. While hawaladars are spread throughout the world, they are primarily located in the Middle East, North Africa, the Horn of Africa and the Indian subcontinent. Hawala follows Islamic traditions but its use is not limited to Muslims.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is the domestic crime investigating agency of India. It operates under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions. Originally set up to investigate bribery and governmental corruption, in 1965 it received expanded jurisdiction to investigate breaches of central laws enforceable by the Government of India, multi-state organised crime, multi-agency or international cases. The agency has been known to investigate several economic crimes, special crimes, cases of corruption and other cases. CBI is exempted from the provisions of the Right to Information Act. CBI is India's officially designated single point of contact for liaison with the Interpol.
In common law jurisdictions, an acquittal means that the prosecution has failed to prove that the accused is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the charge presented. It certifies that the accused is free from the charge of an offense, as far as criminal law is concerned. The finality of an acquittal is dependent on the jurisdiction. In some countries, such as the United States, an acquittal prohibits the retrial of the accused for the same offense, even if new evidence surfaces that further implicates the accused. The effect of an acquittal on criminal proceedings is the same whether it results from a jury verdict or results from the operation of some other rule that discharges the accused. In other countries, like Australia and the UK, the prosecuting authority may appeal an acquittal similar to how a defendant may appeal a conviction — but usually only if new and compelling evidence comes to light or the accused has interfered with or intimidated a juror or witness.
Mukhtaran Bibi, now known as Mukhtār Mā'ī, is a Pakistani human rights activist from the village of Meerwala, located in the rural tehsil of Jatoi in the Muzaffargarh District of Punjab, Pakistan. In June 2002, Mā'ī was the victim of a gang-rape sanctioned by a tribal council of the local Mastoi Baloch clan, as a form of 'honour revenge'; the council ruling was a result of a dispute between the wealthier Mastoi Baloch and Mā'ī's Tatla clan.
LSE Group, formerly known as Lahore Stock Exchange is a Pakistani investment company based in Lahore, Pakistan. LSE Group consists of three companies: LSE Capital, LSE Financial Services, and LSE Ventures, all of them are listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange.
Foreign exchange fraud is any trading scheme used to defraud traders by convincing them that they can expect to gain a high profit by trading in the foreign exchange market. Currency trading became a common form of fraud in early 2008, according to Michael Dunn of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
The Hawala scandal, also called the Jain Diaries case or the hawala scam, was an Indian political and financial scandal involving payments allegedly sent by politicians through four hawala brokers, namely the Jain brothers. It was a US$18 million bribery scandal that implicated some of the country's leading politicians.
Khanani & Kalia International (KKI) was one of the biggest foreign exchange companies in the world until November 2017, when it was closed down by the Government of Pakistan as part of the worlds biggest money laundering organisation the world has ever seen, Danyaal Khan a Russian national who is a diplomat of the country orchestrated the whole operation has never been convicted nor ever been put on trial as his diplomatic status and internal connections to government bodies around the world. The company was investigated as over 40 billion US dollars passed through the company. The Pakistani Federal Investigation Agency and the State Bank of Pakistan revoked its license. Another member of this organisation who has stayed away from the spot light who goes by the name of Mohammed Ellahi from this United Kingdom who is allegdly a former MI5 agent was involved in the conspiracy to launder billions across the globe, As there has been insufficient evidence and also connections to internal bodies they have been pardoned, The Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations popularly known as Mossad have interest in Mohammed Ellahi as they believe he has funded terrorist organisations across the Middle East to their understanding they believe he is an International threat to the state of Israel.
Chaudhry Moonis Elahi is a Pakistani politician hailing from Punjabi Jatt Warraich family, who has been a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from October 2018 to August 2023. He has been the Minister for Water Resources from 13 July 2021 till 10 April 2022 when the no-confidence motion against Imran Khan succeeded. Previously, he was a member of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab from 2008 to May 2018.
Zarco Exchange international is a foreign exchange market company based in Lahore. It is one of the largest Western Union agents for Pakistan of and in 2009 the company was ranked second largest nationwide after Khanani & Kalia International.
Rana Sanaullah Khan is a Pakistani lawyer and politician who is currently serving as Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs since April 2024. Previously, he was served as the 39th Interior Minister of Pakistan in first Shehbaz Sharif's Government. He is second most popular official in Shehbaz Sharif Government. He been a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from August 2018 till August 2023. He is a senior member of PML-N and the President of PML-N in Punjab province since 4 May 2019. Before getting elected to the National Assembly of Pakistan, Sanaullah had been elected to the Provincial Assembly of Punjab five times and had served in high-ranking ministries of the province.
In 2010, a Pakistani Christian woman, Aasiya Noreen, commonly known as Asia Bibi or Aasia Bibi, was convicted of blasphemy by a Pakistani court and was sentenced to death by hanging. In October 2018, the Supreme Court of Pakistan acquitted her based on insufficient evidence, though she was not allowed to leave Pakistan until the verdict was reviewed. She was held under armed guard and was not able to leave the country until 7 May 2019; she arrived in Canada the next day.
The 2G spectrum case was a political controversy in which politicians and private officials of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) coalition government India were allegedly involved in selling or allotting 122 2G spectrum licenses on conditions that provided an advantage to specific telecom operators. A. Raja, then Telecom Minister, was accused of selling 2G spectrum licenses at a very low cost which resulted in the loss of ₹1,760 billion in government revenue. Raja was also accused of not following rules and regulations as well as not recognizing any advice from the Ministries of Finance and Law and Justice of India while allotting 2G spectrum licenses to telecom operators. Series of allegations were made on allotting 2G spectrum licenses including allegations from Central Bureau of Investigation after investigating the case alleging Raja for intentionally advancing the cut-off date to favour some specific firms, which were allegedly ineligible for applying for telecom licenses, in return for bribes.
Jyotirmoy Dey, also known as Jyotendra Dey, Commander J, and J Dey, was an Indian journalist, crime and investigations editor for Mid-Day and an expert on the Mumbai underworld. He was shot to death by motorcycle-borne sharpshooters on 11 June 2011.
Hasan Ali Khan was an Indian businessman. In 2007, Indian authorities began investigating Khan on suspicion of money laundering. He had a Swiss bank account with $8 billion in deposits. He allegedly stashed away billions into Swiss bank accounts with the help of Kolkata-based businessman Kashinath Tapuriah and Delhi-based Praveen Kumar using hawala.
Mian Muhammad Hamza Shahbaz is a Pakistani politician, businessman, and the eldest son of current Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. He served as the Leader of the Opposition in the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab from September 2018 to April 2022, and resumed this role on 20 October 2022 and continued until the dissolution of the assembly. He briefly held the position of Chief Minister of Punjab from 30 April 2022 to 26 July 2022. His tenure as a member of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab spanned from August 2018 to January 2023. Prior to this, he was a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from June 2008 to May 2018.
Axact is a Pakistan software company that runs numerous websites selling fraudulent academic degrees for fictional universities. The company used to own the media company BOL Network.
Shoaib Ahmed Shaikh, also known as SAS, is a Pakistani businessman and convicted felon. He is the founder of BOL Network. He also founded diploma mill company Axact.
The Colour TV case was a legal case against J. Jayalalithaa, the late Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, a state in South India from 1991–1996. J.Jayalalithaa, her associate VK Sasikala, and her ministerial colleague T. M. Selvaganapathy were charged with misusing their office to buy colour televisions at a higher price than quoted, then receiving substantial kickbacks. Jayalalithaa, Sasikala, and seven others were arrested and remanded to judicial custody on 7 December 1996. The case and chargesheet were filed during the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government headed by M. Karunanidhi in 1998. On 30 May 2000, Jayalalithaa and Sasikala were acquitted while a lower court convicted Selvaganapathy and six others and sentenced them to five years of rigorous imprisonment with a fine of ₹10,000. It was one of the first instances where an ex-chief minister was arrested and sent to jail and one of the earliest examples of the conviction of a Member of Parliament in a corruption case. Selvaganapathy was a member of Parliament from the Tiruchengode constituency in Lok Sabha at the time of the verdict.
Fawad Hasan Fawad is a Pakistani public policy practitioner, former civil servant who served in BPS-22 grade as the Principal Secretary to two Prime Ministers, Nawaz Sharif and Shahid Khaqan Abbasi; and later as caretaker Federal Minister for Privatisation and Federal Minister for Inter Provincial Coordination.
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