The Invoice That Never Was
You walk into a currency changer’s booth in Clifton or a gold shop in Peshawar’s Qissa Khwani Bazaar and hand over rupees. A code is agreed between two men. In Dubai, sometimes the same day, a second man pays out the equivalent in dirhams, which move toward an off-plan apartment or a business account. No wire transfer. No bank record. No FBR trail. The two dealers settle later through goods, offsetting transactions, or other codes on other phones. On April 9, the FIA’s Corporate Crime Circle raided an office in Clifton Block 8. Suspect Mohammad Waqas was taken into custody with Rs4 million in cash. WhatsApp chats documenting hawala-hundi transactions were retrieved from his phone. A case is being registered under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act. The same week, FIA Additional Director General Mujahid Akbar Khan visited the Anti-Money Laundering Circle in Karachi to review progress. He expressed satisfaction. Investigation is ongoing.
