FIA can probe ‘wilful default’ after court order

Dawn reported that the Lahore High Court has restricted the FIA from pursuing a bank customer over alleged wilful default before a banking court has assessed the claim in civil proceedings. The ruling followed petitions by Qaiser Shabbir and others, who contested FIA notices issued after financial institutions had already sought recovery through the courts. Some recovery cases had been decided, while others remained under appeal or execution.

The bench said a recovery judgment establishes the sum owed but does not, by itself, prove wilful default, which has both civil and criminal aspects. It also said a customer must receive a 30-day demand to pay before a complaint can be made, and disagreed with a 2019 LHC ruling on the need for an earlier civil finding. The judges warned that allowing criminal action to begin first could enable coercive recovery of amounts not yet determined.