Money laundering probe launched against Pakistan's TikTok star Hareem Shah
Jan 12, 2022
Islamabad [Pakistan], January 13 : Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Wednesday launched a money-laundering probe against TikTok star Hareem Shah after she claimed that she had travelled from Pakistan to the United Kingdom with a significant amount of cash.
In a video, originally shared on social media platform Snack Video, Shah can be seen sitting down with two stacks of British pounds. Showing the money, the social media star said that this was the first time she had carried a "heavy amount" from Pakistan to London, Dawn reported.
According to the Federal Board of Revenue's website, a passenger can bring any amount of any foreign currency to Pakistan but "taking out foreign currencies is permitted up to USD 10,000 unconditionally."
The FIA statement said the inquiry against Shah was launched under laws pertaining to foreign exchange laws and her "visa, immigration and travel documents have been obtained."
"The FIA has initiated an inquiry and sought details from Pakistan Customs and Airport Security Force as well," the FIA spokesperson said.
This is not the first time that Shah has found herself in hot water. In October 2019, authorities had launched an inquiry when she had shared videos of herself in the conference room at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as detailed by Dawn.
According to the statement, Shah had travelled from Karachi international airport to Doha, Qatar on January 10.
"The FIA has decided to write a letter to the UK's National Crime Agency to take action against Hareem Shah whose real name is Fiza Husain," the statement said
It added that "the transfer of currency through illegal means falls in the ambit of money laundering."
