- Additional Director Sarfraz Chaudhry named among suspects.
- Officials accused of taking Rs9m bribe from Ducky Bhai’s wife.
- FIA showing recovery higher than alleged bribe: Defence lawyer.
A Lahore court on Monday extended the physical remand of six National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) officials, who are facing bribery allegations, 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 receiving Rs9 million in bribes from the wife of the YouTuber.
During Monday’s hearing, the FIA requested the court to extend the physical remand of the suspects in the white-collar crime case.
The FIA prosecutor told the court that the case involves financial fraud and that further information is needed from the victims. He added that to date Rs45.8 million have been recovered from the suspects.
The prosecutor argued that the suspects’ custody is required for further investigation to trace additional victims and recover more funds.
On the other hand, Mian Ali Ashfaq — the suspects’ counsel — opposed the FIA’s request, arguing that the complainant had alleged 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 was no complainant and that the FIA itself was trying to locate them. “If someone doesn’t approach the court themselves, the law cannot help them,” he added.
The suspects’ counsel further argued that no individual has so far recorded any statement against the suspects.
After hearing arguments from both sides, the court initially reserved its verdict on the FIA’s physical remand request. Later, the judicial magistrate announced the reserved verdict, extending the physical remand by three days.
According to the FIA, a case has been registered against the officials for “misuse of authority” and taking bribes to favour a complainant in an ongoing inquiry.
It is worth mentioning that YouTuber Saadur Rehman, widely 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 alleges.
