MCB Bank’s own investigators found a branch manager running a “parallel bank” from his cabin at the Haji Pura branch in Sialkot. The Banking Mohtasib Pakistan then ordered MCB to repay six defrauded customers a total of Rs 21,674,105 plus profit. Between 30 July and 25 August 2026, the President’s Secretariat dismissed all six of the bank’s appeals. Despite this, the victims say they have not received a single rupee.
According to the presidential orders reviewed by TechJuice, MCB’s internal investigation reports describe the fraud as “parallel banking” carried out by the branch manager, Saeed Arif. He allegedly issued fake Term Deposit applications, withdrew customers’ money using cheques they had handed him, and diverted proceeds to a relative’s account. MCB later removed other branch staff for their involvement.
The six victims include Mussarat, an illiterate woman who deposited Rs 9 million from selling her house, only to find Rs 9.5 million debited through cheques she never signed. Her chequebook was later found in a bank official’s drawer. Other victims lost between Rs 1.41 million and Rs 3.6 million through similar schemes involving stamped deposit slips, fake certificates, and unrecorded cash handovers.
In each case, MCB argued that its customers had dealt “personally” with the manager. The Mohtasib rejected this defence, citing settled case law on vicarious liability. MCB has lost this exact argument before. In 2019, the Sindh High Court dismissed similar MCB petitions from its Nawabshah and Hub Chowki branches, and in 2023, the President ordered the bank to repay Rs 3.09 million over a fraud at its Jhang branch.
However, these six cases are only part of the damage. By MCB’s own count, 44 customers filed complaints over 54 transactions worth Rs 76.29 million at the same branch. FIA Gujranwala registered FIR No. C-207/2025 in March 2025 and arrested Arif shortly after. He has not been convicted.
Under Section 82E of the Banking Companies Ordinance, MCB’s compliance deadlines fell between 8 September and 4 October 2026. All have passed. The complainants have filed execution applications, and their counsel, Mian Faizan Ali, says a legal notice is being served on the bank.
The sums are small by MCB’s standards. The bank reported a standalone profit after tax of Rs 26.5 billion for H1 2026 and holds deposits of Rs 2.6 trillion. The Rs 21.7 million owed amounts to roughly three and a half hours of its earnings.
