By Staff Report
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Wednesday arrested a man allegedly involved in operating an illegal hawala/hundi business under the cover of a jewellery shop in the city’s Shah Alam Market and recovered more than Rs1.6 million in cash, foreign currency and other evidence from his possession.
An FIA official said the Corporate Crime Circle (CBC) Lahore carried out the raid after receiving secret information regarding the alleged illegal foreign currency and money-transfer operation.
The FIA team, led by CBC Lahore SHO Irfan Khan, raided the premises and arrested the suspect, identified as Hafiz Usman Ali.
According to the agency, the accused was allegedly operating an unauthorised hawala/hundi network while using a jewellery shop in the busy commercial hub of Shah Alam Market as a front for the illegal business.
During a search of the premises and the suspect’s belongings, FIA officials recovered Rs1.604 million in cash, 300 Chinese yuan, mobile phones, registers and messages allegedly related to hawala/hundi transactions.
The recovered registers and electronic devices would be examined as part of the investigation to determine the scale of the alleged illegal money-transfer operation and identify other individuals who may have been involved in the network, the official said.
Hawala and hundi are informal methods of transferring money, often operating outside regulated banking channels. Such networks can be used to transfer funds without proper documentation or regulatory oversight.
The FIA has registered a case against the suspect under relevant provisions of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1947. Further investigation is under way.
Zone: Lahore
Circle: CBC
Date & Time: 1st September 2026, 07:00 PM
CRACKDOWN AGAINST ILLEGAL HAWALA/HUNDI OPERATORS.
Today, upon a secret information, a raid was conducted against illegal set up of Hawala/Hundi operators by FIA CBC Lahore team and arrested accused namely Hafiz Usman Ali. The accused was found operating an illegal Hawala/Hundi set up under the garb of jewelry shop at Shah Alam Market, Lahore. During search, Hawala/Hundi-related messages, registers, mobile phones, and PKR 1604000/- with Foreign Currency 300 Yuan were recovered from his possession. Accordingly a case under the provisions of FER Act, 1947 has been registered.
SHO FIA CBC Lahore
