Pakistan decides to make cryptocurrency illegal

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and the federal government have come together to make a decision to ban the usage of all types of cryptocurrencies.

The 38-page report has been submitted by the SBP Deputy Governor Seema Kamil to the Sindh High Court to declare it illegal.

On October 20, 2021, the provincial high court directed the government to form a committee presided by the federal secretary of finance to determine cryptocurrency’s legal status and submit a detailed report.

The submitted report has stated that digital currency is based on virtual business that could be used for terrorism financing and money laundering.

It also listed eleven countries that banned digital currency including Saudi Arabia and China and urged the court to impose high penalties over unauthorised usage as these countries have implemented.

The court ordered that the report should be submitted to the finance and law ministries for a final decision on its legal status. They will decide if a ban would be within constitutional jurisdiction.

The hearing was heard by the two-bench judge headed by Justice Karim Khan Agha. The next hearing will be held on April 12 this year.

Meanwhile, a TV host and crypto entrepreneur, Waqar Zaka pleaded to make digital currency legal. In his view, it would benefit the economy of the country.

It was reported previously that Pakistanis have lost almost 18 crores in a cryptocurrency-related scam. Almost 55,000 people have become victims of the scam. In total, 11 mobile applications have been identified as part of the fraud.

As per FIA Cyber Crime Reporting Sindh chief Imran Riaz, the applications that are involved include, MCX, HFC, HTFOX, FXCOPY, OKIMINI, BB001, AVG86C, BX66, UG, TASKTOK, 91fp.