3 min read
Online trading in Pakistan has surged over the past few years, driven largely by social media influencers on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok who sell the promise of fast profits and financial freedom. Channels and personas such as “Earn with Rashid” and “Perfect Trader” have amassed large audiences by showcasing luxury lifestyles and claiming consistent returns. Behind the marketing, however, lies a growing trail of losses, disputes, and accusations, with ordinary investors often left bearing the cost.
One of the most discussed controversies in recent weeks involves Abu Huraira and Samad, the owner of Al Faisal Malls, a retail business with several branches across Pakistan. The issue gained traction after Samad appeared on a podcast, where he detailed what he described as a trading arrangement that spiraled into a financial disaster, allegedly costing him and others close to Rs 30 crore.
Samad says he entered trading casually and without proper knowledge. With only a basic understanding of forex and crypto, he connected with a trader known as “Perfect Trader,” who had previously worked at one of his malls. Through this contact, Samad met Abu Huraira, who portrayed himself as an experienced and successful trader.
Samad claims that Huraira had earlier borrowed about $20,000 from another trading influencer, “Earn with Rashid,” and later repaid the amount by bringing in investments from others. In Samad’s case, he handed over Rs 1 crore to Huraira for trading. He later admitted that he did not fully understand binary trading, a high risk, gambling like model that Pakistan has since banned.
As authorities increased scrutiny, the situation escalated. Regulators banned binary trading platforms, and the NCCIA and FIA reportedly opened cases against several traders involved in such activities.
Samad alleges that Huraira claimed to have paid large sums to authorities to protect himself, and later attempted to extract an additional Rs 6 to 7 crore from Samad, allegedly by warning that Samad’s name could also come under investigation. Samad further claims that Huraira named other traders to authorities to reduce his own exposure.
While these claims remain allegations and reflect one side of a dispute, the episode highlights a broader issue within Pakistan’s unregulated online trading ecosystem. Many so called trading mentors earn more from selling courses, commissions, or referrals to questionable platforms than from actual market performance. Regulatory bodies have intensified crackdowns, banning numerous apps and registering cases against several influencers.
Binary trading, also known as binary options, is a straightforward financial trading method where you essentially wager on whether the price of an asset will rise or fall within a predetermined timeframe. There are only two possible outcomes: if you guess correctly, you earn a fixed profit; if you’re wrong, you lose your entire investment.
This high-risk nature often leads to comparisons with gambling, and many regulators have banned it for retail investors due to the potential for fraud. In this trading style, you make predictions about whether an asset, like stocks, forex, or commodities, will close above or below a certain price by a specific time. If you’re right, you can earn payouts ranging from 70% to 90%, but if you’re wrong, you face a total loss.
The NCCIA finds itself in a fresh controversy days after Ducky Bhai’s stirring video caught the netizen’s eye. You can see the video for yourself below:
