KARACHI: Pakistani investigators are searching for a woman who faked her death certificate to receive $1.53 million from two American life insurance policies, a Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) official said on Saturday.
Investigation reports show that a son and daughter of Pakistani citizen Seema Saleem Kharbey applied for a $1 million American General Life Insurance policy in December 2008 and for another one from MetLife in March 2009. After submitting their mother's fake death certificates in 2011, the siblings received from the insurers nearly $1.53 million and transferred the funds to a Karachi branch of JS Bank.
"We are conducting raids to arrest the woman after our enquiry found her committed fraud in compliance with her children, health and local government officials," Stephen, the FIA inspector in Karachi, told Arab News.
According to a report lodged with FIA's Anti-Human Trafficking Circle in Karachi on Dec. 1, 2020, an inquiry was initiated upon a complaint by Scott J. Jess, assistant regional security officer-investigator of the US consulate general in Karachi.
In his letter, Jess said that Kharbey had contacted the mission in person in April 2019 although she was declared dead in June 2011. She also told US consulate officials that she had traveled internationally on her Pakistani passport after the date of her reported death.
"Kharbey did not cooperate with investigators upon being confronted with the fraudulent Pakistani death certificate other than stating that she was living in Karachi at the residences of her brother and sister, but she refused to provide her siblings' names and addresses,” Jess's letter reads.
After her reported death, Kharbey had reportedly traveled to Hong Kong, Thailand, Iran, Brazil and the United Arab Emirates between August 2011 and August 2013.
A spokesperson of the US consulate declined comment, but the FIA officer confirmed that the matter was taken up by the agency upon the mission's request.
The FIA has registered a case against Kharbey’s son and daughter, a doctor at a general hospital in Karachi's Lyari area, and a former secretary of the Union Council.
Pakistan in search of 'dead' woman over $1.5 million US insurance fraud
https://arab.news/pnkn3
Pakistan in search of 'dead' woman over $1.5 million US insurance fraud
- After her reported death, Kharbey had traveled to Hong Kong, Thailand, Iran, Brazil and the United Arab Emirates
- Federal Investigation Agency inquiry was initiated upon a complaint from the US consulate general in Karachi
Pakistan forms committee to negotiate financial advisory services for Islamabad airport privatization
- Committee to engage Asian Development Bank to negotiate terms of financial advisory services agreement, says privatization ministry
- Inaugurated in 2018, Islamabad airport has faced criticism over construction delays, poor facilities and operational inefficiencies
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Privatization Ministry announced on Wednesday that it has formed a committee to engage the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to negotiate a potential financial advisory services agreement for the privatization of Islamabad International Airport.
The Islamabad International Airport, inaugurated in 2018 at a cost of over $1 billion, has faced criticism over construction delays, poor facilities, and operational inefficiencies.
The Negotiation Committee formed by the Privatization Commission will engage with the ADB to negotiate the terms of a potential Financial Advisory Services Agreement (FASA) for the airport’s privatization, the ministry said.
“The Negotiation Committee has been mandated to undertake negotiations and submit its recommendations to the Board for consideration and approval, in line with the applicable regulatory framework,” the Privatization Ministry said in a statement.
The ministry said Islamabad airport operations will be outsourced under a concession model through an open and competitive process to enhance its operational efficiency and improve service delivery standards.
Pakistan has recently sought to privatize or outsource management of several state-run enterprises under conditions agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as part of a $7 billion bailout approved in September last year.
Islamabad hopes outsourcing airport operations will bring operational expertise, enhance passenger experience and restore confidence in the aviation sector.
In December 2025, Pakistan’s government successfully privatized its national flag carrier Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), selling 75 percent of its stakes to a consortium led by the Arif Habib Group.
The group secured a 75 percent stake in the PIA for Rs135 billion ($482 million) after several rounds of bidding, valuing the airline at Rs180 billion ($643 million).
Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said this week the government has handed over 26 state-owned enterprises to the Privatization Commission.
