QUETTA: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has busted a gang involved in illegal business of Hawala, Hundi and money laundering and arrested four suspects in a raid at a flat on Dr Bano Road.

       FIA officials said on Friday the raid was conducted on credible information about the illegal business and four persons were arrested. They were identified as Hayatullah, Abdul Raheem, Amanullah and Syed Nooruddin. Two other suspects, Aminullah and Attaullah could not be arrested.

       A case has been registered against them.

       A senior FIA official said the illegal business of foreign exchange was going on in a clandestine manner as the suspects did not have any licences from the State Bank of Pakistan and huge pecuniary loss was being caused to the national exchequer.

       He said the suspects received payments of different parties in their bank accounts as well as in cash in Pakistani rupees and provided illegal services of Hawala/Hundi as well as illegal foreign exchange to those parties out of Pakistan, particularly Dubai.

       “They have strong and well-established organised business of Hawala/Hundi in Dubai,” he said. He expressed the hope that further investigation will lead to anti-money laundering investigation as the suspects had established legal businesses to cover their illegal businesses.

       FIA Director Abdul Hameed Bhutto has directed the FIA team concerned to extend the scope of investigation, bring all culprits behind bars and initiate the anti-money laundering proceedings.

       Published in Dawn, September 25th, 2021