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Former HBL chief sent on physical remand

LAHORE: Shuja ul Hassan, former President of Habib Bank of Pakistan, was sent on physical remand for 15 days by an Accountability Court after his arrest on Sunday.

Shuja ul Hassan is alleged to have been involved in a number of bank frauds. First he set up Haleema Garments with loans from Habib Bank, Mall Road Branch, Lahore and then transferred export earnings to personal accounts abroad after opening L/Cs through the same bank.

He also pledged machinery of the factory with the bank as well as a leasing company. In 1998, the HBL, Mall Branch had registered an FIR of having swindled Rs 45 crore but the case was never pursued because of his influence. In a systematic fraud, he had shifted his family to the US and acquired Canadian citizenship.

The HBL, as a last resort, got possesison of a skeleton of the garment factory. Shuja's factory had also defrauded many parties in the market. Because of his political influence, his name was never brought on the Exit Control List. He had reached Pakistan shortly before the takeover by the present regime to sell his properties.

He was arrested on Saturday night. APP