Pakistan’s FIA Launches Crypto Investigation Unit to Fight Money Laundering

Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has established a devoted cryptocurrency investigation unit to goal cash laundering and terrorism financing involving digital property.

The unit sits contained in the FIA’s newly operational National Command and Control Centre, often known as NC3.

Pakistan Builds an Enforcement Arm for Digital Assets

FIA Counter-Terrorism Wing Director Dr Muhammad Athar Waheed instructed native media outlet Dawn the unit investigates using crypto in crimes fairly than regulating the market. Therefore, Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA) retains sole authority over oversight.

Furthermore, Waheed urged the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) and the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) to construct comparable items.

Pakistan’s transfer mirrors a wider world push towards crypto-enabled crime. In current months, US prosecutors have introduced a number of instances towards people accused of money laundering, funding scams, and other digital asset crimes.

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Meanwhile, Pakistan has pushed arduous on digital asset coverage in recent times. Last yr, BeInCrypto reported that the nation was constructing a framework to legalize crypto buying and selling.

In March 2026, Parliament handed the Virtual Assets Act. The legislation establishes a complete regulatory framework for the digital finance sector.

It additionally created the PVARA. The State Bank of Pakistan then eased entry to banking for crypto companies. It scrapped a 2018 round that had blocked regulated entities from dealing with digital property for seven years.

The nation additionally ranks among the many world’s largest crypto markets. It placed third within the Chainalysis 2025 Global Crypto Adoption Index, behind solely India and the United States.

However, the enforcement drive lands whereas Pakistan’s spiritual students stay cut up. The new unit provides Islamabad muscle to match its regulatory ambitions, at the same time as a Shariah debate over whether or not crypto is permissible stays unresolved.

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