ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has decided to seek Interpol’s help to arrest major players in the country’s biggest Modaraba scandal being investigated by the bureau.

The decision was taken at a high-level meeting held in the NAB headquarters on Thursday.

“During the meeting the NAB chairman directed the officials concerned to immediately arrest the plunders involved in the Modaraba scam,” the bureau’s spokesman Ramzan Sajid said.

Three accused have reportedly escaped to Thailand and Malaysia and Interpol has been requested to arrest them. The main accused, Nisar Afghani, is believed to be in Thailand these days.

About 33,000 people were robbed of Rs31 billion (earlier believed to be Rs6bn) in the name of Islamic investment.

Thirteen companies were found involved in cheating innocent people in different cities. Most of these companies were being run by religious leaders (Muftis) who used the platform of their mosques to convince the people to invest in Modarabas, instead of depositing their hard earned money in government’s saving schemes, which they called ‘un-Islamic’.

More than 40 Imams of mosques were used and most of the affected people are said to be seminary students and their family members, widows and retired government employees.

“The NAB chief directed the officials to expedite efforts to bring back the accused fled abroad,” the bureau spokesman said.

The NAB Rawalpindi Director General retired Colonel Shahzad Anwer Bhatti informed the meeting that the bureau had so far authorised investigation into five big Modaraba cases involving Mufti Ehsanul Haq (Fayyazi Gujranwala Industries), Ghulam Rasool Ayubi (Mezban Trading Company), Mufti Shabbir Usmani (Al-Wasey Group), Maulana Abdullah (Islamic Traders) and Asif Javed alias Maulana Ibrahim (Elixir Group).

Earlier, NAB claimed that the scam was of over Rs31 billion.

But Colonel Shahzad Bhatti informed the meeting that so far 33,872 complaints amounting to Rs.21.658bn had been received from the affected people and an amount of Rs1.2bn (cash as well as properties) was recovered.

NAB has so far arrested 12 accused, including Mufti Ehsanul Haq, Mufti Ibrarul Haq, Mufti Hafiz Muhammad Nawaz, Moeen Aslam, Obaidullah, Mufti Shabbir Ahmad Usmani, Sajjad Ahmed, Asif Javeed, Ghulam Rasool Ayubi, Muhammad Hussain, Hamid Nawaz, and Muhammad Irfan.

The meeting was informed that eight inquiries were under way and a large number of complaints were being verified.

The NAB chief directed that a fortnightly progress report be presented to him.

Earlier NAB released Mufti Ehsanul Haq on the assurance that he would pay Rs400 million in cash and the rest by selling his property. But when the number of affected people started increasing he was arrested again and it came to the notice of NAB that he had deposited the looted money in firms in Thailand and Hong Kong.