Rs18b cryptocurrency scam: No law governing virtual currencies in Pakistan, DG FIA says

• There is no regulatory framework for virtual asset service providers to comply with the FATF requirements, says DG FIA.
• FIA is taking up issue of critical legal lacunae with SBP on Tuesday for proceeding against new mode of crime, he says.
• DG FIA says work to investigate nearly Rs18 n cryptocurrency fraud has been intensified.

KARACHI: The Director General Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) revealed that currently there is no law or regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies in the country.

Talking to The News, DG FIA Sanaullah Abbasi said that there was no section of law available in PECA-2016, FERA-1947 and AMLA-2010 regarding illegal and misuse of cryptocurrency. There was no regulatory framework for the virtual asset service providers (VASP) to comply with the FATF requirements, he added.

He warned banks not to make transactions using virtual currency mechanism as at present there is a legal lacunae in the country to check against its illegal operations and misuse.

FIA is taking up the issue of critical legal lacunae with the State Bank of Pakistan on Tuesday for proceeding against this new mode of crime.

At present, the cybercrime wing takes cognizance on the basis of online fraud, which is not adequate enough, Abbasi underlined. He said, "the FIA is also investigating misuse of bank credit card for purchasing virtual currencies overseas, and wants the banks to guard against any violation of their system for transacting virtual currencies."

Abbasi said work to investigate the Rs18bn cryptocurrency fraud has been intensified. He was confident of achieving headway quickly. He said teams have been formed to review and investigate the virtual currency frauds being reported and will determine the way ahead by Tuesday. DG FIA said that there are hundreds of such websites around the world, where the cryptocurrency is operating and being used to fund terrorism, and added Dr. Zafar, is one such accused in terrorist funding arrested eight months ago.

On a query upon legislation in Pakistan, DG FIA Abbasi said that there was no law governing virtual currencies (VCs) in Pakistan. In some cases, FIA Cybercrime Wing took cognizance against Section-23 of the Foreign Exchange Remittance Act and AML Act 2010 in the larger interests of the people. The State Bank of Pakistan and SECP have adopted a prohibited approach and issued various instructions on VCs. SBP is responsible for overseeing payment systems, foreign currencies, and MVTs (SBP Act 1956, Payment Systems and Electronic Fraud Transfer Act 2007, and FER 1947). He added that SBP issued an advisory to the public and bank, MFBs, and PSOs to refrain from dealing with VCs, initial coins offering etc. The SECP issued a directive on August-27, 2020 directing all companies to ensure compliance with the aforementioned circular of SBP. The DG FIA said FIA is taking up the issue of critical legal lacunae with the State Bank of Pakistan on Tuesday for proceeding against this new mode of crime.

Abbasi said cryptocurrency has raised financial concerns for governments worldwide. There has been no consensus to give meaningful utility or an intrinsic value to VCs thus challenging the capacity of the Central Bank. Moreover, no uniform international laws regulate VC despite its use for buying goods and services. Most of the central banks and SECPs refrain their regulated entities from dealing with VCs. Many developed countries US, Canada, and the UK. Malaysia allowed bitcoin to be used and classified it as securities, Australia and Japan as property, Singapore as goods, and South Korea as a digital asset.