The driver, identified as Mohammad Rasheed, noticed a transaction of three billion Pakistani rupees ($22.5 million) from an unused bank account in his name when he went to buy a bike worth Rs 300 for his daughter after saving up for a year
Karachi: An autorickshaw driver in Korangi, Karachi is the latest victim of a dreadful money laundering scheme in Pakistan, which has already affected dozens in recent weeks.
The driver, identified as Mohammad Rasheed, noticed a transaction of three billion Pakistani rupees ($22.5 million) from an unused bank account in his name when he went to buy a bike worth Rs 300 for his daughter after saving up for a year.
That is how this money laundering scheme thrives in Pakistan. Bank accounts in poor residents' names are filled with cash before the entire amount is siphoned off outside the country.
Pakistan's new prime minister, Imran Khan, has vowed to squash rampant corruption and recover billions that have been sent out of the country in this laundering frenzy.
"This is your stolen money... It was stolen on public contracts... and transferred into these accounts, then laundered abroad... I will spare no corrupt man in this country,” Khan said during a televised address to the nation, according to NDTV.
Other than the damages made to the country’s finance, such money laundering schemes heavily damage the image of people like Rasheed.
NDTV reported that Rasheed was so scared when he got a call from the Federal Investigation Agency that he thought that he will go into hiding. It is only after his friends and family members gave him the confidence that he got the courage to cooperate with the officials.
"I stopped driving my rented autorickshaw on the roads because of the fear that some other investigating agencies might pick me up. My wife fell sick because of the tension,” he said.
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