ISLAMABAD: Continuing its crackdown on illegal finance companies involved in online short-term loans, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) arrested nine people involved in the illegal practice and sealed one company in Rawalpindi.
FIA sources said the authority’s cybercrime circle has launched a crackdown on those who provide online loans to people facing dire economic conditions and then extort huge sums of money from them through blackmail.
In a similar incident last week, an unemployed man committed suicide in Rawalpindi.
FIA Director General (DG) Mohsin Hasan Butt told this correspondent that the crackdown on illegal financing companies was initially launched in Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Lahore and would gradually be expanded across Pakistan.
The DG of FIA said that the crackdown will be started next week in Karachi.
He further said that ‘FIA Karachi office has been instructed to complete the initial preparations of the operation’.
FIA teams are verifying the registration of financial companies with the Security Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), and companies without registration certificates will be considered illegal, the official said.
He added that the SECP is the registration and regulatory authority that issues licenses to non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) for lending through online apps.
Additionally, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) collaborates with Apple and Google to remove illegal apps involved in microfinancing in Pakistan.
“A crackdown is on, and action will be taken if the victims, who were harassed or beaten up by the company through loan acquisitions, come forward.
Mohsin Butt added, “FIA is taking action against all companies that are violating SECP regulation and are unregistered.”
Meanwhile, the FIA Cyber Crime Circle raided the Financial Services office on Syedpur Road in Rawalpindi.
According to FIA spokesperson, Inspector Badar Munir sealed the various offices of the company in the Plaza.
During the initial investigation, the arrested accused revealed that they were given a call target and each accused used to make 100 to 150 calls on a daily basis.
They also used to call friends and relatives of people who had availed loans, an FIA spokesperson said, adding that online lending companies had created separate sections in their offices dealing with torture calls. Separate tasks were assigned.
The online company created sections D-Zero, D-1, D-2, DS-1, DS-2 and DS-3.
FIA also seized a large number of documents, computers, laptops and SIM cards during the raids.
After the arrest of the accused, further investigation is underway to access others.
According to the FIA spokesperson, cases have been registered against 19 accused in connection with online loan apps.
