Karachi court dismisses bail pleas of suspects, including Chinese nationals

A judicial magistrate in Karachi on Tuesday rejected the bail pleas of suspects, including Chinese nationals, in a case pertaining to fraudulent Ponzi scheme.

As many as 34 suspects, including 15 foreign nationals, were arrested during raids on illegal call centres operating in Defence Housing Authority (DHA). They are currently in jail on judicial remand.

The suspects through their counsel filed applications before Judicial Magistrate (East) Gulraiz Memon seeking post arrest bail. He announced his order after hearing arguments from defence and prosecution sides.

The magistrate observed that the suspects are not entitled to the concession of bail due to the "stage of investigation and seriousness of the allegations."

The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) registered two separate FIRs, stating that it launched an inquiry after receiving credible information about the involvement of foreign nationals in online fraud activities.

The NCCIA said that the suspects targeted people through social media ads and persuaded them to invest money, which was later transferred to multiple bank accounts. To gain trust, small amounts were first paid back to investors as fake profits, it added.

The arrest of the suspects had earlier been confirmed by Interior Minister Zia-ul-Hassan Lanjar during a press conference.