FIA Arrests Bank Manager Among Four in Crackdown on Illegal Currency Exchange in Karachi

KARACHI – In a major crackdown against illegal currency exchange, the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) State Bank Circle Karachi arrested four suspects, including a private bank manager, and recovered foreign currency and gold worth millions of rupees.
Acting on the directives of FIA Director General Rafat Mukhtar, FIA teams raided a location near Fatima Hospital in Soldier Bazaar, Karachi, and apprehended two suspects identified as Syed Muhammad Raza and Hasnain.
During the raid, authorities recovered 50,600 US dollars, 1,500 euros, PKR 100,000 in local currency, and a 10-tola gold coin. In addition, three mobile phones containing digital evidence related to illegal foreign currency transactions were seized.
The suspects were allegedly operating an unlicensed currency exchange business and failed to provide satisfactory explanations for the seized assets. They have been taken into custody, and further investigations are underway to track their accomplices.
In a separate operation, FIA arrested two more suspects, including Zeeshan Abbas, who was serving as a Relationship Manager at a private bank. The raid was conducted at the bank’s Khayaban-e-Shahbaz branch in DHA.
Officials recovered 9,000 US dollars from the suspects and seized their mobile phones, which contained additional digital proof of illegal foreign exchange dealings. Like the others, these suspects could not justify the origin of the foreign currency and were taken into custody for interrogation.
FIA has launched a series of follow-up operations to apprehend more individuals involved in this illegal currency network.