LAHORE: The Federal Investigation Agency’s Lahore Zone has arrested three men in separate operations against the sale of counterfeit products and against hawala hundi and illegal currency exchange.
According to an FIA spokesperson, the operations were carried out by the Commercial Banking Circle and the Corporate Crime Circle Lahore. The suspects were arrested during raids in different parts of the city.
Those arrested have been identified as Muhammad Amjad, Muhammad Ahmed and Masam Khan.
Muhammad Amjad and Muhammad Ahmed were found to be involved in violation of the Copyright Act, and a large quantity of counterfeit products of a well-known company was recovered from their possession.
Counterfeiting cases handled by the Corporate Crime Circle typically involve the unauthorised reproduction of trademarks and packaging on goods ranging from cosmetics and lubricants to electrical fittings, spare parts and pharmaceuticals. The offence is prosecuted under the Copyright Ordinance 1962 and the Trade Marks Ordinance 2001, and where the goods are consumable or safety-critical, additional provisions relating to public health and fraud may be attracted.
The harm is not confined to the brand owner’s balance sheet. Counterfeit electrical components are a documented cause of domestic fires; counterfeit lubricants damage engines; counterfeit medicines can be lethal. It is on that basis that intellectual property enforcement in Pakistan has increasingly been framed as a consumer safety matter rather than a purely commercial one.
In the second operation, Masam Khan was arrested for involvement in hawala hundi and illegal currency exchange. Recovered from the suspect were Rs38,500 in Pakistani currency, mobile phones, and evidence relating to hawala hundi and illegal currency exchange.
According to the FIA spokesperson, all three suspects have been arrested and further investigation has been initiated.
Hawala and hundi are informal value-transfer systems that move money across borders without a corresponding movement of funds through the banking channel, relying instead on a network of brokers settling balances among themselves. The system is fast, cheap and requires no documentation — which is precisely the source of both its popularity and its illegality.
For Pakistan, the macroeconomic consequence is direct. Every remittance that arrives through hawala rather than the banking channel is foreign exchange that never reaches the State Bank’s reserves. Successive governments have attempted to close the gap by improving formal remittance channels, offering incentives to senders, and prosecuting operators.
The enforcement dimension is equally significant. Informal channels are attractive to those moving proceeds of crime, evading tax, or financing prohibited activity, precisely because they leave no auditable trail. Pakistan’s obligations under the Financial Action Task Force framework — which the country worked for years to satisfy — require demonstrable action against unlicensed value transfer, making cases of this kind part of a documented compliance record rather than routine policing.
Offences are prosecuted under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act 1947 and the Anti-Money Laundering Act 2010. Only exchange companies licensed by the State Bank of Pakistan may lawfully deal in foreign currency.
Consumers are advised to purchase currency only from licensed exchange companies and to obtain a receipt. Overseas Pakistanis are reminded that remittances sent through banks and authorised money transfer operators are protected, traceable and eligible for government incentives, none of which apply to informal transfers.
The three suspects have not been convicted and are entitled to the presumption of innocence.
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