US Stamps Case: Family Members Get Interim Bail
The US stamps case took a new turn on Friday, as a sessions court in Lahore granted interim pre-arrest bail to three family members of the suspects in an alleged online sale of fake US postage stamps worth $126 million.
The applicants, Wasim Akram, Ayesha Akram and Sameera Anjum, had been declared co-suspects in the case along with the key suspects. They appeared before the court to seek bail.
Their counsel, Rana Luqman, argued that the applicants had been falsely implicated and had no involvement in the alleged offence. The court accepted their petitions and granted them interim bail till November 13, with a direction to join the investigation before the next hearing.
Defence says no concrete evidence
The court also heard arguments about the key suspects, Faheem and Naeem Akram. The defence counsel argued that the prosecution had so far failed to collect any concrete evidence against them.
He said Faheem Akram, the key suspect, worked as a freelancer and received payments from foreign clients. The transactions cited by the prosecution, he argued, were related to his professional work.
The case centres on the alleged online sale of counterfeit US postage stamps. Faheem Akram was indicted in the case last month, in a prosecution that put the value of the alleged fraud at $126 million.
US stamps case: what the bail means
Interim pre-arrest bail protects the three applicants from arrest while the court considers their petitions. They must join the investigation and appear at the next hearing on November 13.
Pre-arrest bail is a routine protection in Pakistani courts. It stops the police from arresting an applicant while the court weighs whether the case against them has enough weight to proceed. The protection is temporary, and the court can confirm it, extend it or cancel it at the next hearing. In this case, the court has tied the relief to a clear condition: the applicants must join the investigation and present themselves when the case is called again.
The order does not decide whether the applicants took part in the alleged offence. That question will turn on the evidence the prosecution places before the court and the record of the investigation.
Lahore police recently arrested 12 people from two illegal call centres in the city, in a separate case involving alleged telecom fraud targeting victims in Canada and the United States. The two cases show how online fraud investigations in Lahore increasingly cross borders, with victims and payments spread across countries.
The case reaches back to an indictment in the United States. Faheem Akram, 33, from Khanewal in Punjab, was indicted by a federal grand jury in the Southern District of Florida, the US Department of Justice announced on September 28. The indictment alleges he ran LabelsBank.com, a website that sold more than 5.1 million counterfeit US postage labels at a flat rate of about $2 each, causing losses of more than $126 million to the United States Postal Service. More than 5,200 people bought the fake labels through the site, and a US court ordered the site seized and shut down.
Frequently asked questions
Who got bail in the US stamps case?
A Lahore sessions court granted interim pre-arrest bail to Wasim Akram, Ayesha Akram and Sameera Anjum, family members of the suspects in the alleged $126 million fake US postage stamps case.
How long does the bail last?
The interim bail runs till November 13. The applicants must join the investigation before the next hearing.
Who are the key suspects?
Faheem and Naeem Akram are the key suspects. The defence says the prosecution has so far failed to collect concrete evidence against them, and that Faheem's foreign payments were freelance earnings.
What is the case about?
The case alleges the online sale of fake US postage stamps worth $126 million. Faheem Akram was indicted in the case last month.
