FIA arrests one more in ongoing crackdown against illegal currency dealers


KARACHI: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) reported on Saturday its Lahore circle had arrested an illegal currency dealer allegedly involved in currency smuggling (hawala/hundi) from capital city of Punjab province.
 A day earlier, a Pakistani court had sentenced three illegal currency dealers to five years in prison and a Rs1 million fine for their participation in illegal foreign exchange trading. Since a crackdown on illegal currency dealers and smugglers was launched, law enforcement agencies, including the FIA, have announced the arrest of four dealers in the past two weeks.
In an effort to assist the Pakistani rupee's recovery against the US dollar and other major global currencies, the ongoing crackdown has been intensified by law enforcement agencies. The suspect was taken into custody from Azam Cloth Market in Lahore, according to a statement released by the FIA on Saturday. This occurred as the FIA Corporate Crime Circle Lahore intensified its ongoing campaign against hawala/hundi operators and dealers in illegal currency. According to the FIA statement, the suspect was identified as Gul Ameer, a Peshawar, KP, resident. It also stated that during the raid, the federal agency acquired Pakistani currency worth Rs6.4 million. "Also recovered from his possession were hawala/hundi receipts and other digital evidence." The suspect has been apprehended, and the investigation has begun. Raids are being conducted to arrest other accomplices of the suspect.”
 On Friday, Pakistan’s court of the First Additional Sessions Judge, Sukkur, jailed three illegal currency dealers for five years and imposed a fine of Rs1 million each.  Qamar Shehzad, Muhammad Zeeshan, and Zubair Asghar were among the inmates convicted. The FIA Composite Circle Sukkur had registered the case against them.
 In recent days, the crackdown has contributed to the strengthening of the domestic currency against the US dollar and other currencies in open and interbank markets. According to State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) data, the rupee has regained a total of Rs2.4 against US dollar since launch of the crackdown on July 23, 2025 to date, closing at Rs282.5/$ in the inter-bank market on Friday compared to Rs284.9/$ on July 22, 2025.
 Since June 1, 2025, the rupee had fallen nearly Rs3 to the dollar in the previous seven weeks, reaching Rs284.9/$ on July 22, 2025. Malik Muhammad Bostan, chairman of the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (ECAP), stated in an interview with the Business Recorder on July 23 that he had led a delegation of currency dealers to the Director General of Counter Intelligence (DGC) at the Inter-Services Intelligence of Pakistan (ISI) in Islamabad. An ECAP statement from that time states that Bostan informed the DGC of the currency smuggling to Iran and Afghanistan. According to the statement, he was quoted as saying, "Due to higher black market rates, the supply of dollars is decreasing daily to legal currency dealers." According to the ECAP, "on this, General Faisal Naseer [DGC] ordered law enforcement agencies to crack down on currency smugglers and arrest them."

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