Pakistan FIA raids National Bank in Karachi; arrests VP over alleged dollar smuggling

In a bid to stem bolstering smuggling activities in the country, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) of Pakistan on Saturday raided the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) in Karachi, Samaa News reported. Following the raid, the federal agency nabbed one of the vice presidents (VP) of the nationalised bank for alleged involvement in hoarding and smuggling dollars. Three bank officials, including a woman, fled the office before the raid, Samaa added.

The Saturday raid is said to be a part of a wider crackdown by FIA aiming to limit skyrocketing smuggling activities following a sharp decline of the Pakistani rupee against the US dollar. 

FIA nabs 8 involved in alleged dollar smuggling

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the federal agents raided money exchange offices in Saddar and Gulshan-e-Iqbal areas of Karachi and arrested eight people associated with money smuggling. As per Samaa News, an amount of $36,394 and other foreign currencies worth Rs. 3 million were also seized during the Tuesday raid. On the other hand, Pakistan Central Bank has implemented several steps to control the sharp decline in Pakistani rupee value against the dollar. 

Dollar rate jumps in Pakistan

Since last month, dollar rates have continued to display an upward graph against the Pakistani rupee with its highest on October 14. According to Samaa, the dollar touched its highest Rs.171.20 in the history of the country. The jump in dollar rate was fuelled by a rush of imported goods which rose from $5.5 billion in July to $6.5 billion in August, Samaa reported, quoting Forex Association Chairman Malik Bostan. Additionally, the amount was also influenced by the importers with dual citizenship of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Meanwhile, a debt gap of $9 billion is also levying a heavy toll on the increasing dollar rate against the Pakistani rupee.

Pakistan Central Bank takes steps to strengthen Pak rupee against US dollar

Pakistan Central Bank had earlier imposed bank transaction limits and concealed financing of imported vehicles to mitigate the appreciating value of the dollar. The SBP also induced measures to limit the outflow of dollars from the country. Nevertheless, the measures were just enough to ease the pressure only for few days due to a spike in illegal currency transactions and smuggling in the country.

(Image: Unsplash/ AP/Representative)