The Director General Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) revealed that currently there is no law or regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies in the country.
DG FIA Sanaullah Abbasi said that there was no section of law available in PECA-2016, FERA-1947 and AMLA-2010 regarding illegal and misuse of cryptocurrency. There was no regulatory framework for the virtual asset service providers (VASP) to comply with the FATF requirements, he added.
He warned banks not to make transactions using virtual currency mechanism as at present there is a legal lacunae in the country to check against its illegal operations and misuse.
FIA is taking up the issue of critical legal lacunae with the State Bank of Pakistan on Tuesday for proceeding against this new mode of crime.
At present, the cybercrime wing takes cognizance on the basis of online fraud, which is not adequate enough, Abbasi underlined.
He said, "the FIA is also investigating misuse of bank credit card for purchasing virtual currencies overseas, and wants the banks to guard against any violation of their system for transacting virtual currencies."
