ISLAMABAD: A married couple was among 44 people held accused of operating a Ponzi scheme in Karachi and in its surroundings which is remembered as Alliance Motors scam. Muhammad Ismail Ishaq and his wife, Fatima, admitted before NAB investigators that they had an account at Credit Suisse and at five other foreign banks.
The husband was willing to enter into a plea bargain but Fatima was reluctant. In her possession were the secret codes of their accounts held in foreign banks, NAB documents reveal. She thought the couple’s sacrifices would make their children’s life comfortable with the money they would leave behind them. But finally, she surrendered too, much to the excitement of investigators.
The NAB was happy at this conclusion because the recovery it could manage though confession was not possible by other means. However, the couple outsmarted the NAB. In 2003, they entered into a plea bargain, paid $1.8 million which was 80% of the amount they held in all foreign bank accounts and won the freedom. Major shares went from Credit Suisse where, the couple said, it had $1.2 million.
Now, the leaked data of Credit Suisse reveals that the couple lied about the actual amount. The account which was opened at the peak of Ponzy scheme in 1987 reported the maximum balance of 2 million Swiss francs in June 2003…
