FIA arrests five suspects over involvement in Hawala Hundi

FIA targets Hawala Hundi operations in Karachi, arrests five suspects, seizes millions and illegal assets.

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has arrested five individuals allegedly involved in an illegal Hawala operation following a series of raids in Karachi’s Shahid Millat Road, Garden West, and Sharfabad areas.

The arrests were made after the FIA’s Corporate Crime Circle executed operations against the underground money transfer network, also known as 'Hawala'. The agency seized over Rs 2.5 crore in cash and a range of other valuables, including prize bonds, cheques, mobile phones, and computers.

In the first raid at Shaheed -e- Millat Road, the FIA apprehended Asif Ashraf, the owner of a travel agency, and Shayan Waheed, a Hawala dealer.

The operation led to the confiscation of Rs 2.25 crore in cash, several mobile phones, a laptop, and documents detailing the illegal Hawala transactions.

Subsequent raids were conducted in Garden West and Sharfabad areas, under judicial orders, where FIA agents recovered 117 cheques, prize bonds worth Rs 61,000, Rs 47 lakh in cash, two laptops, two computers, seven mobile phones, and detailed ledgers.

Three more suspects — Mohammad Owais, Aqeel Sameer, and Javed — were arrested during the operations.

According to FIA sources, the suspects were involved in Hawala operations using third-party payments, settlements, and transactions through shell companies.

These methods bypassed formal financial channels to move money internationally, a practice that is illegal in Pakistan.

The FIA has launched an investigation into the network's operations, with plans to expand the probe to other regions involved in similar activities.

Authorities continue to target such illicit networks as part of their efforts to curb the growing misuse of informal financial systems.