Cybercrime watchdog to reopen all inquiries

ISLAMABAD:

Following the emergence of a corruption scandal involving some officers of the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA), the newly appointed director general of the agency has decided to reopen all inquiries and First Information Reports (FIRs).

NCCIA DG Syed Khurram Ali has sought records of all FIRs registered by the NCCIA so far. He has also issued orders seeking details of properties, vehicles, and assets seized to date. These details are supposed to be submitted by tomorrow, November 3.

The newly appointed NCCIA director general has also called for performance reports from all officers from grade-14 to grade-19.

According to an official memo, all officers posted in Cyber Crime Wing — which was earlier part of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and which was earlier this year turned into a separate agency, the NCCIA — for the last 5 years must submit their performance reports by Monday 12:00 noon.

The memo further warns that officers failing to submit their reports will be considered to have zero performance. The DG has issued directives for submission of these reports across all zones, including Lahore, Karachi, and Islamabad.

The federal government on October 28 appointed Syed Khurram Ali, a grade-21 officer of the Police Service of Pakistan, as the new DG of the NCCIA.

The former NCCIA DG, Waqar-ud-Din Syed, was removed after the emergence of a scandal involving alleged corruption by a number of NCCIA officers.

These officers, earlier presumed missing, were presented last week in the court of a judicial magistrate in Lahore. The FIA registered an FIR against them for allegedly taking millions of rupees from various individuals and businesses as bribes.