LAHORE: The Federal Investigations Agency (FIA) Lahore arrested two suspects on Sunday over charges of dollar hoarding and money laundering and seized local and foreign currency worth Rs40 million from their custody.
The two men have been identified as Hassan Ghulam Ghous and Umar Dar. The FIA has also registered two cases against a money exchange company.
In a statement, the FIA said dollars were being hoarded to make the rupee weaker in the market. This practice has created an artificial demand for the greenback.
To counter the move, FIA Punjab Zone-I Lahore Director Waqar Abbasi directed Ishfaq Ahmad, the deputy director of the commercial banking circle and Zia Islam, the deputy director of the FIA corporate crime circle, to take strict measures against those involved in this crime.
The officers formed six teams to launch a crackdown against dollar hoarding. During investigation, the teams rounded up Ghous and Dar.
The government recently announced that it was launching a crackdown on those involved in dollar hoarding and speculative currency trade.
The operation has been launched in coordination with the State Bank of Pakistan and the finance ministry.
