Court halts FIA’s ‘money laundering’ probe against Hareem Shah

The Sindh High Court has stopped the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) from probing Hareem Shah’s controversial “money laundering” claims. 

Last week, the FIA had written to banks in Karachi and Lahore to freeze Hareem Shah’s accounts. The TikToker has two bank accounts in Pakistan.

Subsequently, Hareem filed a case in the SHC against the FIA’s inquiry. She argued that a video of her with foreign currency notes did go viral, but she had released a clarification later. The FIA had issued her a notice and recorded her statement too, Hareem added.

Hareem’s lawyer fears her arrest upon her return from the United Kingdom.

The court has served notices to the FIA officials and deputy attorney general. It also directed the investigation officer to appear at the next hearing.

The controversy unfolded after Hareem shared a video on January 12, 2022. She was showing off bundles of foreign currency notes, which she claimed to have smuggled from Pakistan to the UK without being questioned.

“So be careful while bringing the amount because you can get caught,” said Hareem. “No one stopped me, you know, and they can’t, of course. I came here very easily, but the law in Pakistan works more against the poor, so be wary of that.”

After the FIA announced an investigation, Hareem uploaded another video and retracted her earlier statement. The money in the video, she said, came from the sale of her sister’s car in London and the video had been recorded as a prank.

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