Pakistan’s FIA Launches Crypto Investigation Unit as the Country Races to Regulate Digital Assets

Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) disclosed Tuesday it has established a dedicated cryptocurrency investigation unit inside its newly operational National Command and Control Centre, tasked with probing the use of digital assets in financial crimes. 

The move marks the enforcement side of a broader national effort to build a regulatory and investigative framework around digital assets as crypto adoption grows across the country.

How Pakistan Split the Crypto Oversight 

FIA Counter-Terrorism Wing Director Dr Muhammad Athar Waheed told Pakistani newspaper Dawn that the unit’s mandate is specifically criminal rather than regulatory — it will investigate how crypto assets are being used to facilitate money laundering, terrorism financing, cybercrime, and other financial offences. 

Waheed also called on two other Pakistani agencies — the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency and the Anti-Narcotics Force — to establish dedicated crypto units to address the specific ways digital assets are used in cybercrime and drug-related activity. 

Per the report, new procedural rules are also being prepared to ensure investigations are completed within defined timelines, Director Athar said:

With the introduction of several reform initiatives, the FIA has already demonstrated significant improvement in its performance, and we expect a number of additional key projects to be completed over the next six months.

The new unit sits inside the National Command and Control Centre (NC3), which functions as a centralized platform for intelligence sharing, operational coordination, and law enforcement support across Pakistan’s federal agencies. 

The Interpol Desk operates from the same center, connecting Pakistani investigators to international law enforcement networks, which suggests that the FIA intends to pursue crypto crime cases with cross-border cooperation rather than limiting its scope to domestic activity.

The Regulatory Buildup Behind The New Unit

The unit’s launch is the latest development in what has been a rapid transformation of Pakistan’s approach to digital assets. The Pakistan Crypto Council was established in March 2025 to shape blockchain and digital assets policy. 

Pakistan’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, known as PVARA, was created in July 2025 under the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority Ordinance to align with Financial Action Task Force requirements. 

In May 2026, Parliament passed the Virtual Assets Act, giving PVARA a full statutory foundation to license and oversee digital asset exchanges and service providers operating in the country. But beyond enforcement and regulation, Pakistan has also been actively courting international crypto investment. 

Today, World Liberty Financial signed an MoU with the Ministry of Finance to explore innovation in digital finance, particularly the use of stablecoins for cross-border transactions, signalling growing global interest in Pakistan as a key market for digital assets. pic.twitter.com/rYzbfHYysd

— Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (@PakistanVARA) January 14, 2026

The country lifted its banking ban on crypto transactions earlier this year and has been in discussions with crypto ventures about establishing operations, including entities linked to the Trump family’s World Liberty Financial (WLFI). 

Featured image generated with OpenArt.