FIA Seeks BankIslami Records in Unity Foods Financing Case

KARACHI: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has sought detailed from the BankIslami Pakistan Ltd regarding banking records in connection with an investigation into alleged criminal breach of trust, cheating and falsification of accounts involving listed company Unity Foods Limited (UFL).

The BankIslami Pakistan Ltd is a JS group bank, who sanctioned Rs 15 billion financing facility to Unity Technologies (private) ltd company in June 2025.

The case, FIR No. 15/2026, has been registered by the FIA Corporate Crime Circle Karachi under Sections 409, 405, 420, 477-A read with Sections 109 and 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), as well as Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947.

According to the FIA requisition issued under Section 94 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), the FIA is investigating the matter on a reference from the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) under Section 41-B of the SECP Act, 1997.

The investigation concerns a Rs15 billion financing facility extended by a bank to Unity Technologies (Private) Limited (UTPL) under a diminishing Musharakah arrangement against a 100% lien over deposits of Unity Foods Limited.

The FIA said the restructuring of the facility in June 2025, under which UFL was made a Musharakah partner in the financing arrangement, and the subsequent appropriation of UFL’s deposits towards UTPL’s liability, form part of the ongoing investigation.

The agency has also nominated five officials of the bank, who allegedly processed and recommended the financing facility, as accused in the case. The officials have joined the investigation, according to the FIA document.

Those named are Relationship Officer Hasaan Raza, Relationship Manager Rehan Shahzada, Team Leader Syed Muzaffar Alam, Head Corporate Banking South Mukarram Hasan, and Group Head Corporate Banking Zaheer Elahi Babar.

The FIA has directed the bank to produce detailed records to enable investigators to examine and assess the role of each of the officials in the financing transaction.

The agency has sought certified true copies as well as soft copies of the relevant records on a USB drive. The documents are required to be properly indexed and paginated.

The Islami bank has been directed to submit the records through the named officials along with another bank officer who is fully conversant with the matter.

The FIA directed the bank to produce the requested record before the investigating officer at the FIA Corporate Crime Circle Karachi.

The investigation is focused, among other matters, on the structure of the Rs15 billion financing facility, the June 2025 restructuring that brought UFL into the Musharakah arrangement, and the use of UFL’s deposits to settle liabilities of UTPL.

The FIA’s requisition is part of the ongoing investigation and does not by itself establish criminal liability against the individuals or entities named in the case.

The FIA had already registered a criminal case against Unity Foods Limited following a Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) investigation into alleged financial irregularities, including the suspected misuse of company funds and discrepancies in accounting records.