Chinese national sent to jail for cyber theft in Karachi

Xie Yie was allegedly stealing ATM information from a bank in Badar Commercial

KARACHI: A Chinese national, facing charges of allegedly stealing data from a private bank's ATM machine, was sent to jail on Thursday on a 14-day judicial remand.

The suspect, Xie Yie, is said to be part of an international gang allegedly involved in stealing data from ATM facilities of banks by using skimming devices. He arrived in Karachi on June 18 along with his accomplice, identifed as Xie Rongjing, who is still at large.



The Federal Investigation Agency's (FIA) cyber crime unit presented the suspect before a South district judicial magistrate and informed the court that he was caught with devices installed at an ATM machine in the Badar Commercial area of Defence Housing Authority.

According to the FIA, the bank management had approached them after observing suspicious activity of two foreigners at one of their ATM facilities through CCTV cameras. The footage showed the suspects installing some devices at the machine; one where the card is inserted and the other at the keypad.

The investigators assert that the suspects would send the data to their gang in China and with whose help they would make fake ATM cards to withdraw cash from account holders.



Some electronic equipment, skimming devices, bank cards and a memory card have been seized from the guest house in Bath Island where the two were staying, the FIA adds. Chinese diplomats have also been asked to help trace the other suspects involved.

The magistrate directed the FIA to produce the charge sheet at the next hearing while sending the suspect to jail on judicial remand. A case has been registered under sections 36 and 37 of the Electronic Transaction Ordinance and 420 (cheating), 468 (forgery), 471 (using as genuine a forged document) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 1^st, 2016.