The FIA’s cybercrime wing has written to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to block access to more than 1600 crypto trading websites. However, at the same time, Federal Minister for Science & Technology Shibli Faraz has said that Pakistan has plans to adopt blockchain technology that serves as a backbone for cryptocurrencies. Meanwhile, reports are surfacing that PTA and FIA Cyber Crime are struggling to decide the mechanism for blocking cryptocurrency websites.
Read more: Binance Assures FIA its Full Support in the Investigation of the Multi-Million Dollar Crypto Scam
Problems faced by authorities while blocking cryptocurrency websites
According to the PTA sources, the FIA Cyber Crime Wing has identified a list of 1600 websites and requested PTA to block all of them, but the problem is that most of the websites or links either are already not working or doing some other businesses while having side links to cryptocurrency. To access the situation regarding blocking cryptocurrency websites, the PTA has written a letter to the FIA Cyber Crime Wing seeking more information about links and the law under which cryptocurrency websites can be blocked.
There is no section of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016, the Foreign Exchange Remittance Act, 1947 (FERA), or the Anti-Money Laundering Act 2010 (AMLA) that deals with the illegal use or misuse of cryptocurrencies. Furthermore, no one has enough knowledge about blockchain to investigate cryptocurrencies. According to experts, cryptocurrency utilizes blockchain technology. One who wants to investigate matters of cryptocurrency should know about blockchain technology.
Crypto is a new dimension to fraud
Talking to a press conference, Sanaullah Abbasi, the Director-General of FIA, said that cryptocurrencies have given fraud a new dimension. Officials knowing the situation feel that the legal ambiguity surrounding digital currency trade has made it easier for Pakistanis to fall prey to financial scams.
Source: Pro Pakistani
