Overview
- The Federal Investigation Agency set up a dedicated Cryptocurrency Investigation Unit that will operate from the newly operational National Command and Control Centre, which the agency launched on Tuesday, July 21, 2026 to centralize monitoring and operations.
- The unit is tasked with probing money laundering, terrorism financing, cyber-enabled financial crimes, and crypto-related fraud and will monitor suspicious transactions on virtual asset platforms.
- FIA officials say investigators will use modern digital forensics, blockchain-analysis tools, open-source intelligence and internationally recognised practices to trace illicit flows and gather digital evidence.
- The unit is explicitly framed as the enforcement counterpart to the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, and officials stressed it targets illegal activity rather than legitimate users while exchange licences and tokenisation plans proceed.
- The move builds on Pakistan’s rapid formalisation of crypto after its 2022 exit from the FATF grey list and high retail adoption, and it could reassure international partners on compliance while raising legal and religious questions that may affect public acceptance.