A local court has issued a non-bailable arrest warrant for Waqar Zaka — a television host and social media activist — in connection with a suspected cryptocurrency transaction worth Rs 173 million, JEE News reported on Friday. in case.
Earlier this year in January, Zaka was booked by the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) cybercrime circle for allegedly maintaining two accounts for trading cryptocurrencies/virtual assets.
The case was taken up on Thursday by Judicial Magistrate (East) Mukesh Kumar against Zaka, who is spearheading the campaign for virtual currencies to be declared legal tender in Pakistan.
The magistrate adjourned the hearing till January 5, 2023, directing the FIA prosecutor to submit a report on the execution of the warrant on a future date.
The Case
The case was registered by FIA cybercrime circle assistant director Shehryar Ahmad Khan on the state’s complaint, which said that on receipt of a source report by the Financial Monitoring Unit (FMU) in August 2020. An inquiry was initiated against Zaka.
He said that the records collected by the FIA from the concerned banks revealed that during the last three years transactions of more than 173 million rupees were seen in their bank accounts out of which 86.1 million rupees were collected. Includes credit and debt of Rs 87.1 million.
The statement of accounts revealed that funds were being deposited in these accounts through foreign remittances (interbank fund transfers) and clearing of cheques, which were later debited through internal transfers to the accounts of their family members. were
The FIA said Zaka used social media for charitable purposes and international funding, receiving Rs 6.8 million, which was withdrawn through pay orders and inter-bank fund transfers.
It claimed that “numerous news, blogs and videos have been found on a public database revealing the involvement of accused Waqar Zaka in cryptocurrency/virtual assets.” “During enquiry, posts related to Bitcoin/cryptocurrency were found on his Twitter account, the accused also promotes cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin through YouTube channels.”
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has not recognized virtual assets as legal tender for storing and transferring value, the agency said, adding that the central bank issued a warning regarding the risk of trading in cryptocurrencies. had also issued and prohibited the public from trading in it. Any such currency.
It said that after examination of the report, secured documents like bank records and transcripts of institutions and oral evidence proved that the accused committed fraud in violation of banking rules and regulations and the prescribed law of the country. And dishonestly committed this crime. Facilitate the trading of virtual assets and the transfer of funds and the use of virtual assets to generate funds.
The FIA held that after the inquiry was initiated and the accused was summoned, he started spreading false propaganda against the state institutions and illegally posted objectionable content against the institutions through social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. He was found involved in activities, threatening government officials and inciting people against the state.
Zaka was allegedly found guilty of offenses punishable under the Pakistan Electronic Crimes Act 2016, the Pakistan Penal Code, the Anti-Money Laundering Act 2020 and the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act 1947.
