Fake Firms Imported 71,815 Routers Worth Rs. 3.2 Billion in Money Laundering Scheme
The Collectorate of Customs Airport Karachi has uncovered imports worth Rs. 3.2 billion allegedly carried out through two fake companies and has proposed a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to investigate the case as a potential trade-based money laundering operation.
The case began with a crackdown on internet routers imported without mandatory PTA certificates. Customs identified 10 goods declarations covering 71,815 routers cleared through the Airport Facilitation Unit without the required certificates, in violation of SRO 1172(I)/2021 and import policy requirements. The consignments were confiscated after adjudication.
The investigation later expanded after several individuals claimed ownership of portions of goods covered under single declarations and sought separate release of the consignments. Customs then began a detailed examination of the two companies involved.
Investigators found that the companies were allegedly paper entities registered in the names of front men and used as market IDs by undisclosed operators. One company’s declared address was a rice and flour shop, while the other’s was a rented family home. One company was registered with FBR only as a “Service Provider / General Order Supplier” rather than as an importer.
Customs also found that the companies’ WeBOC user IDs had been accessed from 2,983 and 2,732 unique IP addresses, respectively, with 1,048 IP addresses common to both. The investigation report said the pattern indicated that multiple hidden operators may have used the same NTN and WeBOC identities for imports, misdeclarations, policy violations and illicit fund transfers.
The companies’ combined declared capital stood at only Rs. 2.2 million when the imports began, while their highest combined declared capital later reached about Rs. 77.7 million. The report said this would not have been enough to cover even one month of their import activity.
Customs also enhanced the declared value of the goods by Rs. 1.3 billion during assessment. For routers alone, the declared value was increased from Rs. 97 million to Rs. 565 million, which investigators cited as evidence of systematic under-invoicing.
The companies recorded local sales of around Rs. 2.9 billion but paid almost no sales tax, according to the report. Many sales were made to blacklisted, suspended or inactive buyers, or to entities whose registered businesses did not match the goods they purchased.
The report also said the companies shared 108 local buyers and 12 foreign suppliers, with one supplier accounting for 61 percent of their combined imports. Their trading activities moved in parallel, while sales tax returns were often filed only minutes apart, which Customs treated as evidence of coordinated control.
The Collectorate has proposed a JIT comprising anti-money-laundering agencies from Customs, Inland Revenue and/or the FIA to investigate possible money laundering and beneficial ownership violations under the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2010. It also recommended suspending or canceling the companies’ WeBOC user IDs under Section 155F and referring the matter to RTO-II Karachi for income tax and sales tax proceedings.
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