Rs300m call centre extortion case debated in Senate IT committee

Pakistan’s Senate Standing Committee on Information Technology has reviewed allegations of embezzlement linked to money collected from illegal call centres during a meeting chaired by Senator Palwasha Khan.

Officials told the committee the case relates to the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) and concerns an alleged monthly amount of Rs15 million taken from illegal call centres.

Read: 34 arrested, including 15 foreigners, in Karachi cyber fraud crackdown

Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) representatives said the matter is being handled as an Anti-Corruption Wing case. They stated that a first information report had been registered against 13 suspects and described the allegations as extortion related to illegal call centre activity.

The total amount under allegation is Rs300 million.

Officials said Rs1.5 million had so far been recovered from a sub-inspector. They added that three people were unaccounted for, five suspects were on bail, and three were in custody.

FIA officials said the inquiry could widen to include personnel from other departments if further evidence emerges.

Senator Pervaiz Rashid said the issue of illegal call centres had been reported for years, referring to past comments by former interior minister Rehman Malik, who had said such operations were sometimes run from vehicles and could involve government officials.

Senator Rashid asked how authorities could identify such networks before crimes are committed, and whether similar call centres operate in the United States and the United Kingdom. He said complaints about call centres based in Pakistan were being raised internationally.

FIA officials told the committee that the case is being viewed as a federal anti-corruption matter and that the NCCIA is a separate entity from the FIA.

The IT ministry secretary told the committee that call centres are not illegal if registered, but those involved in unlawful activity are treated as illegal. He said there are around 3,000 registered call centres in Pakistan.

NCCIA officials told senators that around 150,000 cyber complaints were received last year. They said a major raid in Karachi had led to the identification of large call centres and that arrests were ongoing.

The additional interior secretary said the FIA had carried out raids and that technology changes quickly, which can leave agencies behind. He said cybercrime now extends beyond call centres and includes activity on social media.