The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has traced suspicious banking transactions worth nearly Rs690 million in its investigation 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 case is registered as FIR No. 32/2026 with the FIA Composite Circle Faisalabad, and investigators say the probe has now entered a crucial phase.

According to the latest investigation report, the company at the centre of the new action is linked to four transactions totalling Rs49.165 million. Investigators are examining the commercial purpose of those payments and whether they formed part of a wider settlement network. The FIA has asked the relevant bank to freeze debit transactions on the account while that examination continues.

How the network allegedly worked

The FIA's earlier 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. Investigators have stressed that these figures represent total transaction volumes and should not be read as independently established criminal proceeds or financial losses.

Several single-member companies were allegedly incorporated to obtain corporate branchless banking accounts and bypass the daily deposit limits that apply to individual accounts. The FIA has obtained corporate records from the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, along with account-opening forms, banking documents and transaction histories. The examination reportedly found significant discrepancies between the declared business activities of the companies and the transactions actually passing through their accounts.

The FIR names several online gambling platforms, including U7777 Game, TD777 Game, 89F Game and EPIWIN. Several people who deposited money into the suspected collection accounts have given statements under Section 161 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, confirming that their deposits were made to play online gambling games.

Money trail points overseas

A central focus of the investigation is the suspected onward transfer of funds to Chinese beneficiaries allegedly tied to the online gambling operations. The original FIR names a Chinese associate identified as Michael, who is accused of managing the network's international operations. Investigators are checking whether money collected through corporate accounts and digital payment facilities in Pakistan was settled overseas through informal hawala and hundi channels, although the report acknowledges that the full trail to Chinese beneficiaries has not yet been conclusively established.

Investigators have also 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 has also come under scrutiny over suspected use in an informal international settlement. A representative of the account holder told investigators that the individual lives in Malaysia and that the funds received were meant for onward settlement through hawala and hundi channels. The account holder's own statement is still awaited, and the representative's claims have not been independently verified.

Principal accused and bank officials named

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, while 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 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 so far.

Director General FIA Dr Usman Anwar said he is reviewing the case daily, and 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. Sources associated with digital payment services have called for a high-level joint investigation team covering the entire network, including financial facilitators, hawala and hundi operators and possible overseas beneficiaries. The FIA says it is examining every transaction individually to identify facilitators, recipients and ultimate beneficiaries, and further arrests are expected as additional evidence emerges.