Grand op against dollar hoarders on cards

Companies and individuals identified for expected crackdown

KARACHI:

The authorities have decided to launch a crackdown on dollar hoarders and the final preparations for a major action against them have been completed.

According to sources, companies and individuals have been identified by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) as well as intelligence personnel for the expected grand operation.

Dollars in large numbers stored in bank lockers will be scanned using advanced technology.

The sources said the FIA and intelligence personnel had obtained the two-year data of exchange companies.

They added that a list of those people, who acquired an unusually high number of dollars, had also been prepared.
The FIA and intelligence personnel have started collecting details of the goods kept in lockers by their owners from the banks.

The FIA and State Bank of Pakistan have acquired information that a large number of dollars was stored in bank lockers.

Individuals and groups involved in dollar smuggling, hoarding, and organised crime cartels that have been causing substantial losses to the national economy.

Official sources have revealed that major policy reforms were in the pipeline, signalling a transformation in commodity and currency trading.

The sources also emphasised the upgrading of surveillance systems at land, sea, and airports to combat illegal movements of goods and currency, stating unequivocally that such activities would not be tolerated.

The country’s exchange companies have recently witnessed a massive influx of customers, predominantly sellers, seeking to convert their dollars as the authorities plan to launch a crackdown on currency hoarders and smugglers.

Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir recently  met with leading figures in the country’s business community in Lahore and Karachi. He promised them that there would be transparency in the dollar exchange and interbank rates.

Following those meetings, the country announced a crackdown against illegal currency smugglers and hoarders, followed by the Pakistani rupee making a comeback against the US dollar.

Continuing its winning streak, the rupee recovered another 0.66%, or almost Rs2, on Friday and reached an 11-day high at Rs302.95 against the US dollar in the interbank market as sentiment turned positive and foreign currency supplies improved in the system.

It was the third consecutive day of gains for the rupee, during which it recovered 1.37%, or Rs4.15, according to the SBP’s data.

Similarly, in the open market, the currency regained almost 1%, or Rs3, to Rs304 against the greenback, according to the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan.

The currency has seen a cumulative appreciation of almost 8%, or Rs24, in the past four working days in the retail market.

With the sharp rise in rupee’s value, the difference between exchange rates in retail and interbank narrowed to a mere 0.35%, or Rs1.05, meeting a loan condition of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which had recommended keeping the gap below 1.25%.