ISLAMABAD: The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has proposed development of a formal forum with Islamabad police to combat growing trend of financial crimes.

“We have recently approached the inspector general of police (IGP) Islamabad to consider allocating a senior resource person for dedicated sessions to conduct training of SECP officers in the field of criminal investigation, inspection, evidence collection, handling witness statements, from the perspective of our regulated laws,” SECP Chairman Aamir Khan said here on Saturday.

He was speaking at a workshop on “Investigation of financial crimes” organised by the Islamabad police at School of Investigation, Police Lines Headquarters.

Mr Khan said synergy, collaboration and teamwork between all regulators and law enforcement agencies were vital to effectively combat emerging trends of financial crimes.

He added that the criminal elements expanded collusive practices and developed sophisticated methodologies to evade legal scrutiny.

“The basic reason was advancements in technology, coupled with globalisation amid internet accessibility and increased usage of mobile phones,” chairman SECP said, adding, “The rapid pace of advancements has made it imperative for authorities mandated to protect public interest, to develop the ability to effectively protect against these elements.”

Law enforcement agencies (LEAs) and regulators such as SECP, share the same goal of protection of public interest.

“But the issue is that regulators like the SECP lack the teeth that law enforcement agencies including police possess,” he said adding, “While the regulators have intricate knowledge about laws, accounting practices, business transactions etc, and we can be beneficial for LEAs, especially in combating white-collar financial crimes.”

He lauded the police departments for possessing diverse and unique skills along with the capabilities that can complement their efforts in fighting financial crimes.

“Effective and efficient investigation of financial crimes requires synergy, collaboration and teamwork between all investigation institutions,” the SECP chairman said, adding: “We have a classic example of this in the case of the 2008 Global Financial Crisis where the US government formed special task forces to collectively fight financial crimes.”

IGP Qazi Jamilur Rehman said the workshop was the first effective engagement between the regulatory bodies and law enforcement agencies to develop understanding of the roles of each other.

“In the past, there has been lack of interaction between the two, and limited awareness about the legislative domain and function of the regulators,” he added.

He said the workshop and the training would go a long way in fostering a close cooperative relationship between the SECP and the Islamabad police to collaborate and engage effectively for the larger public good.

Published in Dawn, June 27th, 2021