Pakistan cracks down on underground banks
Thu, November 20 2008
The currency dealers are facing a crackdown by the government for allegedly transferring up to a billion dollars abroad illegally.
“Millions of Pakistanis are serving abroad, many in the Gulf. A majority of them prefer hundi or hawala to send money to their families in Pakistan,” said a money-launderer, requesting anonymity.
“This way we serve the country by bringing in billions of rupees every day.”
“We bring more money into the country every month than transfer it abroad,” he added.
Hundi or hawala is a system whereby a dealer gets a specific commission on transfer of huge amounts of funds from or to the country.
“Your money is always safe and you get cash within no time if sent through the hundi and hawala system,” a currency dealer said.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s top crime-fighting body, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), said it will soon arrest more currency dealers involved in illegally sending U.S. dollars out of the country, allegedly to the tune of $10 billion, sending the country’s currency into a tailspin against the dollar, according to a senior FIA official.
Last week, Pakistan’s FIA arrested seven currency dealers allegedly involved in illegally sending money out of the country.
According to FIA sources, last week’s arrest of leading currency dealers Khanani and Kalia led to five more arrests. The computers of the dealers have also been seized.
“Some of the dealers have escaped the country or have gone underground and we are trying to trace them,” a senior FIA official told IANS.
The official said that some politicians, leading businessmen and bureaucrats are involved in the scam.
“We are also tracing some multi-national companies who illegally transferred dollars from Pakistan,” the official said, adding that some of them were misusing the names of top government officials.
Rehman Malik, advisor to Prime Minister on Interior, said the outflow of dollars had been going on for a long time and a large number of people were involved in it.
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) spokesman said the central bank is also continuously monitoring exchange companies, and has taken specific action against companies on account of violations of foreign exchange rules and regulations during the last two years.
By Muhammad Najeeb
