LOWER DIR: The Federal Investigation Agency arrested five suspects during a crackdown on illegal currency exchange and hawala-hundi operations in Timergara Bazaar here the other day, and seized cash and foreign currencies worth millions of rupees, according to a press release.

The FIA’s Commercial Banking Circle conducted five raids in Timergara as part of its campaign against unauthorised currency trading and informal money transfer networks.

The arrested suspects were identified as Tufail, Zaheer, Habibullah, Amir Hamza and Iftikhar, all belonging to Dir.

The officials recovered Rs49.336 million in Pakistani currency from the suspects. They also seized 158 million Iranian Rials, 20,521 Saudi Riyals, 3,000 UAE Dirhams and 700 Polish zlotys.

Authorities said documents and other evidence allegedly linked to illegal currency exchange and hawala-hundi transactions were also seized during the raids.

The FIA said preliminary investigations suggested that the suspects had been operating currency exchange and hawala-hundi businesses without obtaining the required licences or authorisation from the relevant authorities.

Five separate cases have been registered against the suspects under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, and further investigations are underway.

Meanwhile, a trader has alleged that he was deprived of Rs3.745 million in an online banking fraud and has sought a transparent investigation into the incident.

Speaking at a press conference here on Saturday, Hanifur Rehman, a resident of Koto, said the amount had been withdrawn from his bank account through an alleged online scam in nine different transactions to various beneficiaries inside Pakistan. He urged the authorities to conduct an impartial inquiry and take action against those found responsible.

“I want a fair investigation so that the facts can come to light and the culprits can be brought to justice,” he said.

Sardar Naveed Akhtar, the manager of the bank branch where the trader has an account, confirmed that Rs3.745 million had been withdrawn from his account. He said the bank had referred the matter to the FIA’s Cybercrime Wing and other relevant authorities for investigation.

Mr Akhtar said only the findings of the investigating agencies would determine how the money was withdrawn and who, if anyone, was responsible.

Published in Dawn, August 23rd, 2026