The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has traced suspicious banking transactions worth nearly Rs690 million in its probe into an alleged Rs120 billion online gambling and illegal money transfer network, and has asked a bank to block debits on the account of a Faisalabad-linked company.
The company is linked to four transactions totalling Rs49.165 million, according to the latest investigation report. Investigators are examining the commercial purpose of the transactions and whether they were part of a wider settlement network. The case is registered as FIR No. 32/2026 with FIA Composite Circle Faisalabad.
A central focus is the suspected onward transfer of funds to Chinese beneficiaries allegedly tied to online gambling operations. The original FIR names a Chinese associate, Michael, who allegedly handled the international operations of the network.
Investigators are checking whether money collected through corporate accounts and digital payment facilities in Pakistan was settled overseas through hawala/hundi arrangements. The report acknowledges that the full trail to Chinese beneficiaries has not yet been conclusively established.
Investigators identified several third-party accounts that received large sums from the principal accused without any established legitimate business relationship. Two major recipient accounts showed transactions of about Rs490 million and Rs150 million.
The account holders, mostly from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, were issued notices to join the investigation but have not appeared. A Faisalabad-based account is also suspected of use in an informal international settlement.
A representative of the account holder told investigators that the individual lives in Malaysia and that funds received were meant for onward settlement through hawala/hundi channels. The account holder’s own statement is awaited, and the representative’s claims have not been independently verified.
According to the report, several Single Member Companies were incorporated to obtain corporate branchless banking accounts and bypass daily deposit limits on individual accounts. The FIA has obtained corporate records from the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, account-opening forms, banking documents and transaction histories.
These showed significant discrepancies between the declared business activities of the companies and the transactions in their accounts.
The probe covers records linked to the digital payment platform of a mobile phone company, a microfinance bank and a private bank associated with a Bahrain-based financial group. Officials of the microfinance bank and the private bank have been nominated in the FIR on the basis of evidence collected.
Several people who deposited money into the collection accounts gave statements under Section 161 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, confirming the deposits were made to play online gambling games.
Investigators have substantially traced transactions between two principal accused, Muhammad Zeeshan and Waqar Rashid Khan. Banking analysis found about Rs35 million moved from accounts associated with Zeeshan to those of Khan. The alleged cash component of their profit-sharing arrangement remains under investigation.
The FIA had earlier arrested Zeeshan and Muhammad Hamza Sarwar in connection with the case.
The original findings identified about Rs8.586 billion collected through five branchless banking accounts across nearly 10.49 million transactions. An examination of 11 companies showed aggregate credits of about Rs119.93 billion and debits of Rs118.80 billion. These figures represent transaction volumes, not independently established criminal proceeds or losses.
The FIR names several gambling platforms, including U7777 Game, TD777 Game, 89F Game and EPIWIN. Director General FIA Dr Usman Anwar said he is reviewing the case daily and that the Director FIA Faisalabad Zone and his team would provide details.
Faryal Khan, spokesperson for the Faisalabad Zone director, said the investigation is moving rapidly and has not slowed. She said correspondence with government departments, banks and financial institutions is continuing to collect documentary evidence, and that the complexity of the transactions requires detailed examination before further legal action. Further arrests are expected as additional evidence emerges.
Sources associated with digital payment and financial services offered through mobile phone companies called for a high-level Joint Investigation Team comprising the FIA, law enforcement agencies and financial crime specialists. They said the probe should cover the entire network, including financial facilitators, misuse of bank accounts, hawala/hundi operators and possible overseas beneficiaries.
The FIA said it is examining every transaction individually to identify facilitators, recipients and ultimate beneficiaries, and is pursuing account holders who have not joined the investigation.
