Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Company (FIA) has established a devoted cryptocurrency investigation unit to focus on cash laundering and terrorism financing involving digital belongings.
The unit sits contained in the FIA’s newly operational Nationwide Command and Management Centre, often called NC3.
Pakistan Builds an Enforcement Arm for Digital Belongings
FIA Counter-Terrorism Wing Director Dr Muhammad Athar Waheed advised native media outlet Daybreak the unit investigates the usage of crypto in crimes fairly than regulating the market. Due to this fact, Pakistan Digital Belongings Regulatory Authority (PVARA) retains sole authority over licensing and oversight.
Moreover, Waheed urged the Nationwide Cyber Crime Investigation Company (NCCIA) and the Anti-Narcotics Drive (ANF) to construct related models.
Pakistan’s transfer mirrors a wider world push in opposition to crypto-enabled crime. In current months, US prosecutors have introduced a number of instances in opposition to people accused of cash laundering, funding scams, and different digital asset crimes.
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In the meantime, Pakistan has pushed laborious on digital asset coverage in recent times. Final yr, BeInCrypto reported that the nation was constructing a framework to legalize crypto buying and selling.
In March 2026, Parliament handed the Digital Belongings Act. The legislation establishes a complete regulatory framework for the digital finance sector.
It additionally created the PVARA. The State Financial institution of Pakistan then eased entry to banking for crypto corporations. It scrapped a 2018 round that had blocked regulated entities from dealing with digital belongings for seven years.
The nation additionally ranks among the many world’s largest crypto markets. It positioned third within the Chainalysis 2025 World Crypto Adoption Index, behind solely India and the US.
Nonetheless, the enforcement drive lands whereas Pakistan’s non secular students stay cut up. The brand new unit offers Islamabad muscle to match its regulatory ambitions, whilst a Shariah debate over whether or not crypto is permissible stays unresolved.
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The submit Pakistan’s FIA Launches Crypto Investigation Unit to Struggle Cash Laundering appeared first on BeInCrypto.