SHC cancels bail in Rs44bn Unity Foods case, allows FIA custody

Mettis Global reported that the Sindh High Court withdrew the protective bail granted to one suspect in the Unity Foods matter, opening the way for the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to detain that person for questioning. The court also suspended an August 30 magistrate's order that had directed the accused's release, and it ruled that protection granted in a separate inquiry does not cover the current first information report. Notices have been issued for a hearing on September 30.

According to the Additional Attorney General, the suspect is a main figure in the present FIR, which covers alleged corporate offences and Rs44 billion in overseas investment. A complaint lodged by the firm's major foreign investor first exposed suspected financial wrongdoing within Unity Foods. Once an initial inquiry was complete, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) forwarded evidence of possibly criminal conduct to the FIA, and its Corporate Crime Circle in Karachi formally registered the case on August 29.

Five officials of the company have been added to the Exit Control List, while the foreign investor had put roughly $250m into Unity Foods. The SECP looked into six separate aspects of the matter after the complaint before handing its evidence to the agency.