The Sindh High Court has withdrawn the protective bail granted to former Unity Foods Limited chief executive Farrukh Amin and suspended the order shielding him from arrest, clearing the way for the Federal Investigation Agency to take him into custody. The court acted after Amin failed to appear before the FIA to record his statement, instead seeking additional time, prompting the agency to request withdrawal of his protection.
Amin and four other Unity Foods officials, including Mrs Jalees Edhi, Safdar Sajjad, Abdul Majeed Ghaziani and Amir Shehzad, have reportedly also been placed on the Exit Control List. The FIA’s Corporate Crime Circle in Karachi registered FIR No. CCC-KHI-15/26 against Amin and others on August 29, following a reference from the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan alleging financial irregularities, falsification of accounts, criminal breach of trust, money laundering and misuse of company funds.
Unity Foods is listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange. Singapore-based Wilmar International holds approximately 42 percent of the company, Amin and his family own around 24 percent, and public shareholders hold the remaining 34 percent. Wilmar has recognised a provision of roughly $150 million against its investment following concerns over Unity Foods’ financial position and its ability to service banking facilities, giving the case implications for public shareholders, lenders and Pakistan’s foreign-investment climate.
SECP’s scrutiny began after an off-site inspection in 2021 flagged unusual increases in sales, borrowings, trade payables and rights-issue activity, with trade payables reportedly rising from Rs8.8 billion to Rs13 billion. The Commission issued a show-cause notice in October 2022, but Unity Foods challenged the proceedings before the Islamabad High Court and secured a stay in November 2022.
The case regained momentum after Wilmar’s nominee director filed nine complaints with SECP between February 15 and March 4, 2026, alleging serious financial discrepancies. A fresh off-site examination followed, leading SECP to issue a new show-cause notice on March 10. Amin challenged the proceedings before a Karachi civil court and obtained an interim stay on March 16, but SECP contested the suit and had the stay vacated on August 4. When Unity Foods filed another suit and secured a fresh interim order, SECP again challenged it and had it recalled on August 24.
SECP’s examination allegedly uncovered a difference of approximately Rs44.7 billion between Unity Foods’ published financial information and its internal SAP records. Other issues under review include suspected misuse of proceeds from a Rs3.75 billion rights issue, questionable transactions involving the former CEO’s mother, an approximately Rs5.2 billion gap between recorded and physical inventory, and nearly Rs5 billion in old receivables for which corresponding delivery evidence was reportedly unavailable.
SECP separately opened an insider-trading investigation after detecting a sharp decline in Unity Foods’ share price with no corresponding price-sensitive disclosure. Substantial selling by close relatives of Amin was reportedly observed before BankIslami and JS Bank liquidated his pledged shares. The Commission subsequently issued an investigation order against Amin, Safdar Sajjad and Fehmida Amin and obtained relevant banking and brokerage records; those proceedings have also been challenged before the Sindh High Court.
A separate strand of the case concerns the proposed acquisition of Al-Shaheer Corporation Limited by Amin and his family. Al-Shaheer allegedly owed Unity Foods around Rs1 billion, while other connected entities reportedly owed approximately Rs40 billion. SECP is examining whether Unity Foods’ funds, inventory, employees or infrastructure were used to benefit Al-Shaheer or other connected entities, and on August 10 it halted the proposed takeover. That direction has since been challenged before the Sindh High Court.
After concluding that some suspected offences fell outside its direct regulatory jurisdiction, SECP referred the matter to the FIA on August 25 under Section 41-B of the SECP Act. The withdrawal of protective bail now brings the criminal investigation into sharper focus, with outcomes of the connected proceedings before civil courts, the Islamabad High Court and the Sindh High Court likely to carry wider implications for corporate accountability, shareholder protection and foreign-investor confidence. All allegations remain subject to investigation and final determination by the competent courts.
