LAHORE: As the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) continues to proceed slowly in its probe into nine arrested officials of the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) allegedly involved in extorting money from a YouTuber and call centres, three of them have resigned from their posts.

According to an NCCIA notification, four officers — Deputy Director Muhammad Sarfraz Chaudhry, Assistant Director Muhammad Usman, Assistant Director Shoaib Riaz and Assistant Director Asma Majeed — tendered their resignations, which were accepted by the interior ministry.

“It is to apprise that [these] officers are relieved from [the] NCCIA from the date of the approval of their resignation [Nov 20, 2025],” the notification read.

The mega scam involving misuse of authoity and the acceptance of huge bribes from var­­ious suspects rocked the NCCIA in October.

Questions raised over FIA’s ‘slow’ proceedings against its ex-employees

Not only were nine NCCIA officials booked in Lahore, but 12 others were also booked in Islamabad for allegedly taking huge sums of money from individuals and call centres.

An internal inquiry found the nine NCCIA officials accused of operating as a network, taking monthly cash bribes to “facilitate call centres, aggregator companies and individuals involved in online fraud”.

An investigation is also underway into the role of some of the suspects being part of the “blasphemy gang” that would frame individuals.

Questions raised

Although only three NCCIA officers na­­med in the scam have resigned so far, sources believe that all 20 or so suspected ones will eventually be fired from the organisation.

The FIA, which is probing Sarfraz Chaudhry and others, has yet to complete its investigation — raising questions about whether it is attempting to “rescue” its former employees.

Before the establishment of the NCCIA, these officials were part of the FIA’s cybercrime wing. “FIA investigators have yet to complete the challan or investigation for submission to the court,” a source said, adding that all nine suspects were currently in jail and that “no extensive interrogation” had been conducted.

When asked why the FIA failed to expedite the probe, a spokesperson told Dawn that “the matter is under investigation”.

Nine NCCIA officers — including Sarfraz Chaudhry, Muhammad Usman, and Shoaib Riaz — face charges of accepting bribes and misusing their authority in a case involving YouTuber Saad ur Rehman, also known as Ducky Bhai, who was accused of promoting gambling apps on social media.

Mr Rehman recently disclosed the details of the “brutal torture” that he claimed Chaudhry had unleashed on him while he was in NCCIA custody.

According to the FIR registered against the officials under Sections 109 and 161 of the Pakistan Penal Code, read with Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947, the accused allegedly after keeping their shares, distributed the remaining proceeds among other members of the “official gang”.

The source said the anti-cybercrime body seemed to have “become part of the problem rather than curbing it”. There are also complaints about the exploitation of women victims by some elements within the NCCIA.

Published in Dawn, December 18th, 2025