Islamabad:
On Thursday, the president issued an ordinance to establish a virtual asset regulatory Authority (Vara) to regulate the services related to virtual assets in the country to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing.
President Asif Zardari signed the virtual asset Regulatory Authority Ordinance 2025, which would immediately come into force across the country. The authority’s head office would be in Islamabad, but its regional offices could be established everywhere.
The regulation states that the vara will have the status of a business body, therefore it will be able to keep property, make purchases and sales and contracts. According to the regulation, it will also be able to submit cases in accordance with the regulation.
Vara is authorized to issue, suspend or revoke licenses for virtual assets and service providers; make rules for monitoring and regulating virtual assets; Take steps to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing, with powers for investigation, disciplinary action and introduction of fines.
Under the regulation, a board of directors will run Vara affairs. The Board of Directors wanted a chairman of the board and two members of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Law. It may include more members as advisers. The office’s tenure of the chairman and non-official members will be three years.
The regulation says that no persons would provide services related to virtual assets without a license issued by Vara. It adds that fine could be imposed if anyone found that they offer these services without a license.
