KARACHI: Waqar Zaka, social media influencer, TV host and a prominent television personality was issued a non-bailable arrest warrant by the city court in Rs 86 million cryptocurrency scam case.
Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had booked Zaka in a case related to virtual currency transaction from his bank account. Zaka failed to appear in the court on Thursday, after which the matter was taken up by the judicial magistrate. Later, he was issued a non-bailable arrest by the judge, pertaining him to ‘allegedly disappearing’ to evade the case. The court has adjourned its hearing till 5th Jan. The inquiry against the social influencer was initiated by Financial Monitoring Unit (FMU).
Zaka’s bank account details includes past three years records with an aggregated balance of Rs86.1 million and debt of Rs87.1 million. The funds were transferred via foreign remittance and cheque clearing debited through internal transfer on his family member’s account.
It was suspected that the accused utilized social media for the donation purposes and international crowdfunding, through which he received Rs 6.8 million. The money was withdrawn via a pay order and an interbank fund transfer, FIA reported.
Bitcoin Promotion on Social Media
Bitcoin/cryptocurrency and related posts were found on his Twitter accounts in the form of videos, blogs and videos that indicated his involvement in transacting virtual assets.
As per FIA, suspecting reports, documents, bank details, verbal evidences indicated that the accused violated both banking and state laws. The report added that Zaka, deceitfully and in a double-dealing manner committed the illicit offences in virtual currencies/crypto trading. He was also accused of transferring massive funds and making profits.
Criminal Offences Against Zaka
The host was allegedly found guilty in misdeeds under the Pakistan Electronic Crimes Act 2016, Pakistan Penal Code, Foreign Exchange Regulation Act 1947, FIA, and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2020.
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