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Senior officials of Pakistan’s tax authority have come under investigation after the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) uncovered a bogus visa scam in which private individuals were allegedly sent abroad by falsely posing as Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) officers. The case, which surfaced at Islamabad International Airport, has raised serious questions about misuse of official influence and state institutions.
According to FIA sources, the scam was uncovered when two passengers traveling to Paris were intercepted at Islamabad International Airport. Initial questioning raised suspicions, and forensic analysis of their mobile phones revealed WhatsApp conversations with a tax official claiming to be a senior FBR coordinator and second secretary.
“The accused misused the name, authority, and credibility of the FBR to obtain French visit visas,” an FIA official stated during the investigation.
The FIA has now issued notices to a Deputy Collector of Customs and a customs constable, summoning them for questioning. Investigators are probing how airport protocol was provided to private individuals on the instructions of senior officers.
Sources revealed that customs staff allegedly received benefits, including preferred postings, in return for facilitating protocol at the airport. Authorities are reviewing records from the past year to determine how many individuals were granted such privileges.
The FIR states that the main accused, Atiq ur Rehman, received nearly Rs. 5.3 million from two passengers through multiple bank transfers. Investigators say the payment pattern suggests a large-scale operation aimed at illegal migration and possible asylum attempts in Europe.
During interrogation, the arrested suspects admitted they were not FBR employees. One worked as a driver while the other was a property dealer. They confessed to arranging visas by falsely presenting themselves as members of an official FBR delegation.
The FIA has seized passports, mobile phones, laptops, bank records, email correspondence, hotel bookings, travel documents, and foreign currency. Authorities have formally contacted the FBR to verify whether its official email system was misused in the scam.
The investigation is ongoing, and officials say further arrests are likely as the probe expands.
