Pakistan's fake degree global scam busted

Islamabad, May 19: A major global scam was busted following an expose on a company known as Axact operating out of Karachi in Pakistan. It was alleged that this company was running a racket running into millions of dollars by setting up fictitious universities and providing fake degrees all over the world.

Today the Federal Interior Minister of Pakistan Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan order an inquiry into the matter following which a raid was conducted by the Federal Investigation Agency's cyber crime unit team.

The team has seized documents and even arrested two persons in connection with the case. The investigators are probing to find out the extent of the scam and prima facie it has been alleged that the racket was a global one.

The scam of millions of dollars:

The company Axact operated out of Karachi and had 2,000 employees. The company according to a report in the New York Times had been funning a fake education racket that involved paid actors promoting fictitious companies and even issuing certificates of the state department.

The report which quoted former employees also stated that the company had set up 370 websites of fake universities along with accredited bodies. Further it also is alleged of creating a series of fake websites which involved professors and students who were being paid to act.

The company was further found to be routing their traffic through servers of companies that were registered in Latvia and Cyprus. The company is said to have taken money in exchange of a degree to people from US, Britain and United Arab Emirates. Many had fallen trap believing that the universites were real.

Action being taken:

The Federal Investigation Agency in Pakistan a while ago began action against the company. It has collected manuals, computers and other documents relevant to the investigation.

Further the FIA also sealed two offices of Axact at Rawalpindi and Islamabad. They are also questioning around 20 employees of the company.

Axact which was venturing into the media has however accused its rivals in Pakistan of colluding with the New York Times and planting this story. On its website it accused domestic media rivals of colluding with the New York Times to plant a slanderous story in order to harm its business interests.

Further a legal notice sent to the New York Times was also uploaded on its website.

Pakistan has however not reacted too sharply to this report. It has said that it would probe fully into the matter before coming to any conclusion. The FIA has been tasked to do the investigation and once a final report is out can we comment, Pakistan officials also said.

OneIndia News