KARACHI: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has sought information and records from the Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Karachi, under Section 25 of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2010.
The deputy director of FIA, Karachi Zone, in a letter addressed to the IBA’s executive director and director finance, stated that the agency is conducting a criminal investigation against IBA’s executive management.
The letter, which is available with this correspondent, said that the FIA is probing allegations of money laundering of proceeds accrued from the commission of predicate offences, including criminal misconduct, corruption, and corrupt practices in public institutional funds. These funds include grants from the federal and provincial higher education commissions and endowment funds such as the Friends of IBA Trust (FIBAT).
The alleged irregularities relate to the awarding of IT and infrastructural contracts and procurements to selected, “hand-picked” contractors and vendors, and the proceeds of these alleged crimes were laundered locally as well as abroad in the form of movable and immovable properties by executive beneficiaries, warranting inquiry proceedings under the provisions of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2010.
The Deputy Director further directed IBA to provide certified records pertaining to the institute, its affiliated entities, and trusts for the period from January 2020 to date.
The letter also sought detailed utilisation statements of the above grants and donations, showing budget versus actual expenditures, supported by vouchers, approvals, and bank disbursements, as well as complete bank account statements of IBA and its affiliated trusts for the stated period.
The agency has further demanded trust deeds, registration documents, governance structures, and audited accounts of FIBAT and other IBA trusts, together with donor-wise breakup of funds and their utilization. Names and CNICs of all trustees and signatories have also been sought, in addition to internal audit reports and management letters for fiscal years 2020 to 2024 and external auditors’ reports of IBA and its affiliated trusts.
The FIA has also directed the university to submit a list of all procurement, development, and IT infrastructure contracts awarded since January 2020, including the names of contractors and vendors, the scope and value of contracts, and dates of award and completion, along with the complete procurement files consisting of tender notices, bids received, evaluation reports, procurement committee minutes, and award letters.
Payment records of the above contracts, including vendor bank details, payment vouchers, and delivery confirmations, have also been sought.
The agency further directed IBA to provide details of all foreign tours of its executives that were financed by IBA funds and/or its trusts, as well as IBA’s Code of Conduct, Conflict of Interest Policy, and standard operating procedures regarding asset declarations of IBA management. Procurement, finance, and HR manuals of the institute have also been demanded.
The letter concluded with a direction that the complete record must be furnished in person by the director (finance) before the Inquiry Officer and Assistant Director Umayad Arshad Butt of FIA on September 22 (today) at 10am.
IBA Executive Director Dr Akbar Zaidi confirmed the receipt of the FIA letter, saying, “We will fully cooperate and provide whatever records and things the FIA has asked for. We are satisfied that we are audited regularly, but we are wondering who is behind this and why is this happening to us.”
