FAISALABAD: A special court in Faisalabad granted bail to 18 foreign nationals arrested in connection with a large-scale online fraud case. The accused were ordered to be released from Central Jail Faisalabad upon submission of surety bonds worth Rs 200,000 each.
Senior Civil Judge Muhammad Ashfaq Malik approved the bail after the individuals, part of a group of over 149 suspects arrested earlier this month by the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA), appeared before the court.
The arrests were part of a major crackdown on online scams in Faisalabad, which led to the registration of eight separate FIRs involving more than 70 foreign nationals, including the primary accused.
On Monday, the main suspect, Malik Tahseen Awan, former chairman of the Board of Directors of Faisalabad Electric Supply Company (FESCO), was presented in court along with 60 foreign men and women, under heavy security. Judge Malik instructed Awan to appear again on July 31, while the foreign nationals were remanded to the FIA’s Cybercrime Cell, with a scheduled reappearance on August 11.
The arrests followed a joint raid on July 8, conducted by intelligence agencies and the FIA’s Cyber Crime Wing.
