Six NCCIA officials handed to FIA custody in Ducky Bhai bribery case

LAHORE (Dunya News) – A Lahore court has remanded six National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) officials into Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) custody for three days following bribery allegations in the high-profile Ducky Bhai case.

The FIA produced the arrested officers before Judicial Magistrate Naeem Wattoo, accusing them of taking Rs9 million in bribes from the wife of YouTuber Saadur Rehman, popularly known as Ducky Bhai. The court approved the FIA’s plea for physical remand to recover the alleged bribe amount and further investigate the claims.

The arrested officials include Additional Director Chaudhry Sarfraz, Assistant Director Shoaib Riaz, and officers Ali Raza, Mujtaba Zafar, Yasir Ramzan, and Zafar Shah.

According to the FIA’s Anti-Corruption Circle in Lahore, a case was registered against nine NCCIA officials for alleged misuse of authority, bribery, and misconduct. The complaint was

lodged by Aroob Jatoi, wife of Ducky Bhai, who claimed that officers had abused their powers, mishandled her private information, and accepted bribes to influence the investigation.

The FIR stated that Assistant Director Shoaib Riaz, who led the inquiry against the YouTuber, allegedly accepted Rs9 million in cash and cheques, which he later distributed among colleagues. The report also mentioned that over $326,000 were transferred from Ducky Bhai’s Binance account to an officer’s personal account.

The case has been registered under Sections 109 and 161 of the Pakistan Penal Code, read with Section 5(2)47 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, which deals with criminal misconduct by public servants.

During the hearing, Advocate Mian Ali Ashfaq, representing the accused officials, opposed the FIA’s request for remand. He argued that the arrests were made without the required approval from the Director General of the FIA and that the complaint lacked vital information, including the address of the alleged briber.

He also claimed that the case was registered hastily, within 20 minutes of the complaint being filed. The defence termed the allegations “false and fabricated” and asked the court to dismiss the FIA’s plea. After hearing both sides, the court reserved its decision before granting a three-day remand.

YouTuber Saadur Rehman, known as Ducky Bhai, was arrested in August at Lahore airport. The NCCIA had registered a case against him for promoting online gambling platforms such as Binomo and 1xBet. The charges fall under sections 13, 14, 25, and 26 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016, and sections 294-B and 420 of the Pakistan Penal Code.