FIA to ask PTA for banning ‘Binance’, Other Crypto Exchanges

January 17, 2022

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Dr. Sanaullah Abbasi, DG Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), has said that his agency will contact the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) to block cryptocurrency Exchanges to prevent fraud and possible money laundering.

He addressed the media after meeting with senior State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) officials at the Cyber Crime office. “SBP officials presented the regulatory mechanism at the meeting,” said the head of the FIA.

The SBP team informed participants that the central bank has recently issued recommendations to the Sindh High Court on the regulation of cryptocurrencies.

Abbasi said lawyers would also be contacted to address fraud and other issues related to cryptocurrencies. “This has given crypto a new dimension to fraud,” Abbasi commented.

The FIA DG indicates that the cryptocurrency has been banned in China but declared legal by the US, UK and Canada and states that we are primarily concerned about fraud and possible money laundering.

Earlier in the meeting, it was noted that the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2016, the Foreign Exchange Money Transfer Act of 1947 (FERA) and the Money Laundering Act of 2010 (AMLA) do not contain any section on illegal use of Cryptocurrency .

The meeting was informed that “there is no regulatory framework for Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) to comply with FATF requirements.”

It has also been reported that the SBP and the Pakistan Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan have taken a “Strictly Prohibited Approach” and issued various instructions on Virtual Currencies.

“SBP has advised the general public and banks to refrain from dealing with virtual currencies, offering coins to open, etc.”

“The FIA has taken action on people’s complaints that they were cheated,” Abbasi said. He said that information was collected from citizens about possible suspects involved in this scam.

The FIA recently launched a massive financial fraud investigation after 11 apps linked to Binance, a popular cryptocurrency, went down and betrayed more than $100 million (Rs 17.7 billion) from Pakistani investors.