KARACHI: The Federal Investi­gation Agency (FIA) on Wednesday took notice of social media celebrity Hareem Shah’s claim about being involved in money laundering and launched an inquiry against her.

“The FIA has initiated an inquiry against Hareem Shah over money laundering,” said a spokesperson for the Sindh FIA. “The FIA has decided to write a letter to the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency to take action against Hareem Shah whose real name is Fiza Husain.”

The FIA took action after a video surfaced on social media in which Ms Shah claims to have transferred a huge amount of money to the UK.

“The woman’s visa, immigration and travel documents are also being obtained,” the spokesperson said.

The FIA is taking action against her under foreign exchange laws.

Hareem Shah travelled from Karachi airport to Doha in Qatar on Jan 10.

Hareem Shah claims having transferred huge amount to UK

She has uploaded a video on social media showing a huge amount of cash in her hands. She says in the video that she has brought a huge amount to the UK and nothing happened to her because in Pakistan the law applies only to the poor.

She regrets that there is no value of Pakistani currency which hurts her. She says the government has promised to increase the value of Pakistani rupee but has done nothing in this regard.

Referring to the tragic death of several people in a recent snowfall at Murree, the social media activist says that there is extreme cold in the UK but no one is dying there.

“Transfer of currency through illegal means comes under money laundering,” the FIA spokesperson said in a statement. “The FIA has also sought details from customs and the Airport Security Force.”

Hareem Shah often becomes embroiled in controversies.

Published in Dawn, January 13th, 2022