A Pakistani court has issued an arrest warrant for a local TV presenter in connection with suspicious cryptocurrency transactions worth 173 million rupees (about $764,349).
On Thursday, during the hearing of the case by the magistrate, Waqar Zaka (Waqar Zaka) did not appear in court. As a result, the judge ordered the arrest of the TV star without the right to bail, and set the first hearing on the merits for January 5, 2023.
In January 2022, the Pakistan Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) accused Waqar Zaka of carrying out illegal transactions with cryptocurrencies. The investigation was initiated at the request of the Financial Monitoring Unit (FMU). According to the FIA, over the past three years, Zaka has made $764,349 in suspicious banking transactions. The total amount of loans in his accounts reached 86.1 million rupees ($380,407), and the debt managed to reach 87.1 million rupees ($384,825).
The investigation alleges that Zaka used social media for charitable purposes and to obtain international funding. However, judging by the TV presenter’s Twitter account, Zaka was involved in the promotion of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. After analyzing bank statements, the FIA ​​found that the money was credited to the accounts through foreign money transfers and check settlements, and then transferred to the accounts of family members of the TV presenter.
The FIA ​​has announced that the Central Bank of Pakistan (SBP) does not recognize digital assets as legal tender that can be held by the user or transferred to others. The federal agency recalled that a few years ago, the Central Bank of Pakistan banned banks from processing transactions with cryptocurrencies and repeatedly warned the public about the risks of trading crypto assets.
In May, the Pakistani government formed several agencies to decide whether to legalize or ban cryptocurrencies in the country. In the meantime, SBP announced that it is preparing legislation to launch its own digital currency by 2025.
Source: Bits
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