ISLAMABAD – The Federal Government and the Central Bank stated on Thursday that the use of cryptocurrencies is illegal and anyone dealing in these currencies is liable to the investigation of the Financial Monitoring Unit (FMU) and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).
The statements were made during a meeting of the National Assembly on Finance by the Federal Finance Secretary Imdad Ullah Bosal and State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Executive Director Sohail Jawad.
The development comes a day after the newly appointed Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on crypto and blockchain, Bilal Bin Saqib, promoted the use of cryptocurrencies during his visit to the United States.
According to Bosal, crypto is not recognized as legal currency in Pakistan. He suggested that the committee invite the Pakistan Crypto Council (PCC) for a more detailed briefing. It is pertinent to mention that SAPM Bilal is the current Chief Executive Officer of PCC.
“The work on the crypto currencies is at a very, very preliminary stage, and whenever the government decides to take it further, we would recommend first having a legal and regulatory framework for it,” Bosal said.
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) MNA Sharmila Faruqi raised the issue of the statements issued by the government concerning the promotion of cryptocurrencies in Pakistan. She noted that there is no current legal framework for the use of cryptocurrencies, although Pakistan was officially removed from FATF’s grey list.
“There seems to be no legal framework for the cryptocurrencies despite the fact that Pakistan has recently come out of the Financial Action Task Force [FATF] grey list,” she said. Jawad replied that the PCC should involve other stakeholders to agree on a strong and effective legal and regulatory framework.
While the finance secretary informed the National Assembly committee that the use of cryptocurrencies was illegal in Pakistan, his ministry was simultaneously promoting these new currencies through a separate series of announcements.
Read more about these announcements: https://www.upfront.pk/sapm-bilal-announces-pakistans-first-govt-backed-bitcoin-reserve/
Jawad, the SBP executive director, said that in 2018, the central bank had issued instructions to its regulated entities. The instructions are still valid, the trading and holding of cryptocurrencies is illegal, and these entities are bound to report to the FMU for investigation by the FIA.
