KARACHI: A local trader, who was booked and arrested for allegedly defrauding a Chinese firm by exporting 60 containers filled with “clay, gravel and stones” instead of chrome ore, has been remanded in the custody of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

On Nov 20, the Corporate Crime Circle of the FIA registered a case against Syed Zeeshan Afzaal Bilgrami, proprietor of M/s Danzu Trader, under Sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 468 (forgery for cheating), 471 (using a forged document as genuine) and 109 (abetment) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), after conducting an inquiry on the complaint of Chinese national Corrine (Yunyan) Chen.

The investigating officer (IO) of the case produced the suspect before a judicial magistrate (south) and sought his physical remand for 14 days for further interrogation.

After hearing the IO, the court remanded the suspect in police custody for five days and directed him to submit a progress report on the next date.

IO says suspect ‘exported’ 60 containers filled with gravel and stones to China, instead of chrome ore

The IO informed the court that the complaint was lodged through the counsel of the Chinese national, who alleged that suspect Bilgrami had signed a contract with M/s Jangse Provincial Foreign Trade Corporation China, to export 15,000 metric tons of chrome ore lumpy in 20-foot containers against an agreed amount of $413,293 (approximately Rs114 million).

As part of the deal, the Chinese company issued a letter of credit (LC), which the suspect collected and subsequently secured a financial instrument (monetary document) against it in February. After completing necessary documentation, including filing the Goods Declaration (GD), the trader shipped 60 containers from Karachi to Xingang Port, China.

The IO said that when the consignment reached China in March the complainant found that it was allegedly filled with “zero-valued goods” such as clay, gravel and stones instead of chrome ore lumpy. It was revealed that the suspect had already defrauded the Chinese importer before the shipment reached China as he allegedly transferred the agreed amount into his other bank account by using the LC and other relevant documents.

During the inquiry, it was found that the suspect submitted “fabricated and bogus” documents. “They [documents] were neither issued by the SGS Pakistan Pvt Ltd. nor did it even handle any inspection job for Danzu Traders. The SGS Pakistan Pvt Ltd, a sister concern of a reputable Geneva-based company, joined the inquiry proceedings and also formally affirmed and declared the fabricated and bogus status of the certificates,” the FIR said.

The FIR further stated that the suspect not only allegedly committed the export fraud but also committed a banking fraud by submitting forged, fabricated and bogus documents for executing the LC in its favour.

“He not merely defrauded the Chinese importer but also brought a bad name to the nation,” the FIA report said.

Published in Dawn, November 23th, 2024