- Additional director Sarfraz Chaudhry mentioned among suspects.
- Officials accused of accepting Rs9m bribe from Ducky Bhai’s wife.
- FIA shows recovery higher than alleged bribery: Defense attorney.
A court in Lahore on Monday extended the physical custody of six officials of the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA), who are facing bribery charges, in the YouTuber Ducky Bhai case.
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) produced the arrested officials, including Additional Director Sarfraz Chaudhry, before a local court in Lahore after the expiry of their earlier remand.
The arrested officers include Zafar, Shoaib Riaz, Ali Raza, Mujtaba Zafar and Yasir, accused of accepting Rs9 million in bribe from the wife of the YouTuber.
During Monday’s hearing, the FIA requested the court to extend the physical custody of the suspects in the white-collar crime case.
The FIA prosecutor told the court that the case involves financial fraud and that more information is needed from the victims. He added that till date Rs45.8 million has been recovered from the suspects.
The prosecutor argued that the custody of the suspects is required for further investigation to trace additional victims and recover more funds.
On the other hand, Mian Ali Ashfaq – the lawyers for the suspects – opposed the FIA’s request and argued that the complainant had claimed a loss of only Rs9 million while the agency has already shown recoveries of Rs45.8 million.
He questioned the legitimacy of the case, saying it was “strange” that there were no complaints and that the FIA itself was trying to find them. “If someone does not approach the court themselves, the law cannot help them,” he added.
The suspects’ lawyer further claimed that no person has so far recorded any statements against the suspects.
After hearing arguments from both sides, the court initially reserved its judgment on the FIA’s physical custody petition. Later, the trial judge announced the reserved sentence, which extended the physical detention by three days.
According to the FIA, a case has been registered against the officials for “misuse of authority” and accepting bribe to favor a complainant in an ongoing investigation.
It is worth mentioning that YouTuber Saadur Rehman, popularly known as Ducky Bhai, was arrested in August at Lahore airport by the NCCIA.
The case against the YouTuber was registered by the state through the NCCIA at midnight on August 17.
According to the First Information Report (FIR), the case includes charges under Sections 13, 14, 25 and 26 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016, as well as Sections 294-B and 420 of the Pakistan Penal Code.
The YouTuber is accused of promoting various online gambling and betting platforms, including Binomo and 1xBet, through his YouTube channel, the FIR claims.
