FIA tells committee 13 suspects named in FIRs as probe continues into funds recovered from illegal operations
Pakistan’s Senate Standing Committee on Information Technology has reviewed allegations of embezzlement related to money collected from illegal call centers during a meeting chaired by Senator Palwasha Khan.
Officials told the committee that the case pertains to the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) and relates to an alleged monthly amount of Rs 15 million. taken from illegal call centers.
Read: 34 arrested, including 15 foreigners, in Karachi cyber scam
Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) officials said the case is being handled as a case of the Anti-Corruption Wing. They stated that a First Information Report had been registered against 13 suspects and described the allegations as extortion related to illegal call center activity.
The total amount under accusation is Rs 300 million.
Officials said Rs1.5 million had so far been recovered from a sub-inspector. They added that three people were unknown, five suspects were on bail and three were in custody.
FIA officials said the probe could be expanded to include personnel from other departments if further evidence emerges.
Senator Pervaiz Rashid said the issue of illegal call centers had been reported for years, citing earlier comments by former interior minister Rehman Malik, who had said such operations were sometimes run from vehicles and could involve government officials.
Senator Rashid asked how authorities could identify such networks before crimes are committed and whether similar call centers operate in the US and UK. He said complaints about call centers based in Pakistan were raised internationally.
FIA officials told the committee that the case is considered a federal anti-corruption case and that the NCCIA is a separate entity from the FIA.
The IT Ministry Secretary told the committee that call centers are not illegal if they are registered, but those involved in illegal activity are treated as illegal. He said there are about 3,000 registered call centers in Pakistan.
NCCIA officials told senators that about 150,000 cyber complaints were received last year. They said a major raid in Karachi had led to the identification of major call centers and that arrests were underway.
The additional home secretary said the FIA had conducted raids and technology is changing rapidly, which can leave agencies behind. He said cybercrime now extends beyond call centers to include social media activity.
