PESHAWAR: The Federal Investigation Agency’s commercial banking circle arrested two persons and recovered $40,000 cash from them on Saturday.

FIA officials said that they had received intelligence on an illegal currency exchange being run in Peshawar’s Saddar area. They said a team raided the location.

“The currency exchange was being run without legal documents. The team arrested Atifullah and Khalid and also recovered $40,000,” a senior FIA official said, adding that the amount was confiscated by the raiding party after the accused persons failed to justify origin of the foreign currency.

The official said that both the accused were questioned for the amount in their possession but they failed to identify the foreign currency’s origin. He said the accused were taken into custody and a case was registered against them under Foreign Exchange Regulations Act, 1947.

FIA officials said that a similar raid was conducted in Chowk Yadgar area of the provincial capital on Friday, where the raiding team arrested a man, Abid for allegedly running illegal currency exchange and hundi-hawala.

“Rs0.8 million was also confiscated after the accused failed to justify the origin of the amount in his possession,” an FIA official said.

On Sept 8, FIA’s commercial banking circle had launched a massive crackdown on illegal forex trade and smuggling of US dollars, and closed multiple shops in Chowk Yadgar – the province’s largest currency market in the provincial capital.

“More than 45 shops were closed in the hub of illegal currency business in Peshawar,” FIA deputy director Afzal Khan Niazi said. “No one can deal in foreign currency without getting permission from authorities,” he told Dawn, adding that the crackdown on illegal forex trade was launched by the FIA’s commercial banking circle, whose team was accompanied by the personnel of police and other law-enforcement agencies.

Published in Dawn, October 8th, 2023