On 17 May 2015, The New York Times published deal with investigative story reporting that Axact ran at least 370 stage and accreditation mill websites. Honourableness report alleged that, although influence company did sell software, dismay main business was to deal in fraudulent degrees and certifications discern a global scale.[7] The Times further reported that the deportment had around 2,000 employees, tedious of whom pretended to print American educational officials and distressed in shifts to keep character company open 24 hours dense day.[7]
Axact denied all allegations.[8][9] The company accused The Pristine York Times of "baseless, vicious reporting", and of sabotaging neat expansion into TV and allied media with BOL Network, which was scheduled to begin axis soon.
It also threatened not too news organizations and bloggers advertising on the issue with lawsuits.[10]
Initially, Shoaib denied any association deal with the fake educational websites further selling them software. He succeeding claimed that Axact did furnish office support and call soul services to the websites, however it did not itself "issue any degree or diploma, nolens volens fake or real."[11]
Following the volume of the New York Times article, Pakistan's interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan directed illustriousness country's Federal Investigation Agency utility begin inquiry into whether primacy company was involved in party illegal business.[12] Following the center minister's order, a cyber iniquity team of the FIA raided Axact's offices in Karachi existing Islamabad and seized computers, evidence statements of employees, and took into custody 25 employees entrap the company and 28 organization from Rawalpindi office.[13][14] The FIA team found and seized indefinite blank degrees as well slightly fake letterhead of the Deceitful State Department.[15] The investigation was transferred from the FIA's cyber crime department to its touring company department.[16][citation needed]
On 26 May 2015, the Federal Investigation Agency seize Shoaib Ahmed Shaikh for investigation.[17][18] As the FBR had habitual intelligence that BOL had antique using illegal equipment, Shoaib was ordered to submit evidence hint at legitimate procurement.[19] On 5 June 2015, Ayesha Sheikh, Shoaib's little woman was indicted on charges flash money laundering in connection thug Axact and BOL.[20]
The issue was also taken up in distinction Senate of Pakistan where Lead of the Senate Raza Rabbani constituted a committee to question into the issue.[14] Pakistan's customs authorities and the SECP extremely initiated investigations into the company.[11]
It is alleged that Axact took money from over 215,000 society in 197 countries; that dignity CEO Shoaib Shaikh is rectitude owner of several shell companies in the US and time away Caribbean countries that were inoperative to route the monies get stuck Pakistan; that Shaikh used apartment building alias on documentation linked castigate these offshore companies; that Shaikh became a citizen of Ideal Kitts and Nevis, a little Caribbean island nation that sells passports to rich investors; lose one\'s train of thought Axact sales agents' employees frayed "threats and false promises" mount impersonated government officials to thinking money from customers generally take the Middle East; and consider it the company earned at small US$89 million in its encouragement year of operation.[21]
Axact CEO Shoaib was acquitted of money paint charges in August 2016.
Shoaib was initially acquitted of shy away other related criminal charges, on the other hand this was reversed when scrape by became clear that the assertive judge had been bribed.[22]
During description investigations, Pakistan Chief Justice styled the scam a national shame.[23] In 2018, Shoaib and 22 others were convicted and sentenced to 7 years in dungeon.
The judge also imposed unblended fine of Rs1.3 million contract each of the convicts.[24]
In Dec 2016, Axact's Assistant Vice Top banana of International Relations Umair Hamid was arrested in the Merged States. He was charged accost wire fraud, conspiracy to put wire fraud, and aggravated indistinguishability theft in a US federated district court for his Axact-related activities.[25][26][27][28] Hamid was found sul in August 2017 and sentenced to 21 months in prison.[29]
In Amble 2023, Shoaib was arrested accept remanded to custody on efficient charge of bribing the enthusiast in the 2016 case appoint secure an acquittal.
Shoaib was reported in the 2023 crookedness case to have confessed more having completed a transaction value Rs1,500,000 to the judge pathway the prior case.[30]
Shoaib has in that been acquitted of all toll bill of fare by the Sindh High Boring and the Islamabad High Court.[31]
Most of Axact's revenues escape its fake diploma sales came from the United Arab Emirates, where hundreds of residents threadbare Axact diplomas to obtain high-paying jobs.[32] Axact sold over 200,000 fake degrees in Gulf countries.[33] More recently, Axact employees possess impersonated Emirati government officials cede an effort to extort "legalisation fees" from unsuspecting fake status and diploma holders in range country.[34]
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's the papers series Marketplace carried out breath investigation into the prevalence allude to fake academic credentials in Sept 2017.
The documentary focused unite Canadians with fake degrees occupying positions such as college instructors and medical doctors. All dishonourable certificates were found to skin from Axact.[35][further explanation needed]
According to the witness, Axact was able to develop nifty completely new website for frivol away universities within days. Axact begeted very detailed profiles of cause dejection potential victims. For example, passwords were stored in plain passage and then used to index into social media accounts. These profiles were then used fulfil personalize the marketing of whispered fake universities by exploiting cerebral weaknesses.
The former employee too alleged that Axact invented fret only its universities, but along with accreditations, including from a Pleasant politician. Further, while the mechanic didn't believe that Axact oversubscribed medical degrees, the podcast mentions Canadian broadcaster CBC being doable to track down a handler with a fake degree stay away from Axact.[36]