Police on Friday claimed to have uncovered a staged robbery involving Rs3.75 crore in Karachi’s Gizri area, arresting an accountant accused of fabricating the incident to misappropriate money belonging to his foreign employer.
According to police, the suspect, identified as Hanif, allegedly arranged for an accomplice to take possession of the money before reporting that armed robbers had intercepted him and escaped with the cash.
DIG South Syed Asad Raza said investigators became suspicious of the accountant’s account of the incident and took him into custody for questioning.
During the investigation, police discovered evidence suggesting that the robbery had been orchestrated by the complainant himself.
Police said they had recovered Rs2.5 crore of the allegedly misappropriated money, while efforts were underway to trace and recover the remaining amount.
According to investigators, Hanif had withdrawn Rs3.75 crore from a bank on I.I. Chundrigar Road before approaching police with a complaint that two men riding a motorcycle had intercepted him in Gizri, snatched his bag containing the cash and fled.
However, subsequent inquiries reportedly revealed inconsistencies in his account, leading investigators to suspect that the incident had been staged.
DIG Raza said the accountant had allegedly handed the money over to an accomplice as part of the plan.
Police further revealed that Hanif had only recently been employed by a foreign woman involved in the meat export business.
According to investigators, the woman, who is currently residing in Islamabad, had initially instructed the accountant to encash a cheque worth Rs1 crore and deliver the money to a businessman identified as Essa.
Instead, Hanif allegedly encashed additional cheques without his employer’s authorisation, withdrawing a total of Rs3.75 crore.
Investigators believe the accountant subsequently fabricated the robbery to conceal the unauthorised withdrawals and account for the missing funds.
Police said raids were continuing to recover the outstanding money and apprehend other individuals suspected of involvement in the alleged scheme.
Further investigations are underway to establish the full circumstances of the incident and determine the roles of the suspected accomplices.