Hascol Petroleum CEO Denied Bail in FIA Enquiry

Hascol Petroleum Limited (PSX: HASCOL) has authorized Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Amad Uddin to exercise authority as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) after the Trial judge refused confirmation of bail applications of CEO Aqeel Ahmed Khan and other individuals. “Following today’s decision by the Trial Judge to refuse confirmation of bail applications from a number of individuals, in the matter of FIA Enquiry No. 127/2021, it has led to the detention of numerous persons, including the CEO of Hascol Petroleum Limited (HPL), Aqeel Ahmed Khan,” the Company said in a stock filing. The stock filing added, “While we are advised by the legal counsel representing the CEO that post-arrest bail should be granted, in the meantime, in order to operate the affairs of HASCOL, the board has authorized the CFO, Amad Uddin, to exercise the authority of the CEO until this issue is resolved or there is a further decision taken by the board”. At the time of filing, the company’s scrip at the bourse was Rs. 5.62, up 0.54 percent or Rs. 0.03 with a turnover of 2,457,500 shares on Tuesday. In 2022, Hascol founder Mumtaz Hasas was arrested by the Federal Investigation Agency’s investigation over his involvement in a mega fraud case worth Rs. 54 billion. Hascol Petroleum Limited was established as a private limited entity in 2001 for the procuring, warehousing, and selling of petroleum products in Pakistan. It was listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange in 2007 after being restructured as a publicly-traded company. Hascol’s first big loan in its long line of credit was from the Summit Bank in 2009. The NBP entered the picture in 2014 when it gave Rs. 2 billion to the petroleum dealer.