Faulty FIRs against hundi/ hawala operators fail to prove illegal activities

LAHORE: Faulty FIRs against hundi/hawala operators fail to prove illegal activity in courts, said sources.

In most of the cases, they said the prosecution fails to establish that the information obtained from the laptops are sufficient to prove that certain amounts against the names of individuals are proceeds of hundi/hawala.

Generally, the FIA officials carry out raids upon receiving inside information that a particular shop of money exchange is dealing in the unlawful business of hundi/hawala. These raids are considered to be successful on account of the arrest of shop managers as well as recovery of heavy cash amounts, mobile phones, cheque books and laptops.

Interestingly, the shop managers also admit before the raiding team about their dealings in the illegal business of hundi/hawala, known as incriminating articles in support of canvassed allegations. Since some of these articles are found missing to be mentioned in the FIR or in the statements of witnesses on the first day of registration of the FIR. Therefore, the adjudication forums do not entertain the inferences drawn from the forensic analysis of the electronic gadgets, containing the names of some individuals along with certain amounts of money against them.

The courts usually maintain that the concession of bail cannot be withheld from an accused merely on the basis of inferences and presumptuous, instead the prosecution must collect some confidence inspiring incriminating material reasonably connecting the accused with the commission of crime.

Sources in the money exchange market said one big reason behind the growth of hundi/hawala business is the faulty FIRs and statements of witnesses by the FIA officials. They have apprehended that unscrupulous elements within the agency miss out such links to cut underhand deals with the responsible ones.

They are primarily required to prove that the confiscated property is proceeds of crime but no tangible material is collected before prosecuting those involved in the unlawful business of hundi/hawala.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024