The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has formed a new nine-member Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to reinvestigate a Rs172 billion digital fraud and money laundering scandal involving illegal call centers, with senior government officials now suspected of facilitating the network.
The case, first uncovered in 2025, has resurfaced two years later after fresh evidence pointed to the possible involvement of officials within state institutions, according to media report.
Initial investigations had traced a network of call centers running large-scale fraud operations across the country, defrauding victims and funneling the proceeds through the formal banking system.
Preliminary findings showed that Rs172 billion generated through the fraud was laundered using multiple bank accounts and microfinance institutions, with the funds subsequently transferred out of Pakistan.
The newly constituted JIT has been mandated to trace the movement of funds, identify all individuals and entities linked to the network, and determine the extent of any official complicity in the scheme.
Investigators believe the scale and duration of the operation could not have continued without support from within relevant departments.
The FIA had not disclosed further details of the scandal at the time of filing this report. Officials said the investigation is ongoing and further developments are expected as the JIT proceeds with its inquiry.
