Pakistan FIA Arrests Two in $430M Online Gambling Payment Network Probe

Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency has arrested two suspects in an investigation into an alleged payment network that processed nearly PKR120 billion, approximately $430 million, through 11 companies linked to illegal online gambling.

The FIA identified platforms including U7777 Game, TD777 Game, 89F Game and EPIWIN during its investigation into the financial flows.

The companies were formally presented as businesses operating in sectors including e-commerce, digital marketing and construction, while investigators allege their accounts were actually used to receive, route and transfer money connected with online gambling.

The PKR119.93 billion figure represents aggregate credit turnover through the accounts and should not be interpreted as gambling revenue, criminal profit or money retained by the suspects.

Two Suspects Arrested as FIA Pursues Others

The arrested men were identified as Muhammad Zeeshan and Muhammad Hamza Sarwar.

Zeeshan was listed as the owner of three companies that recorded combined credit turnover of approximately PKR47.78 billion.

Investigators accuse Sarwar of developing dummy websites for companies and assisting with testing them as part of the process used to obtain corporate payment accounts.

The FIA initially registered the case against eight named suspects and said raids were continuing to locate others allegedly connected with the network.

Eight of the 11 companies identified in the investigation were registered under just three individuals.

Five Accounts Processed 10.5M Transactions

A significant part of the investigation concerns five branchless banking collection accounts.

According to the FIA case material, those accounts received approximately PKR8.59 billion, around $30 million, through roughly 10.49 million transactions.

The volume implies a very large number of relatively small payments, consistent with the type of deposit and withdrawal activity that can occur through consumer-facing online gambling services.

Investigators allege that funds were subsequently moved through multiple financial channels and company accounts.

The FIA is also examining suspected use of unauthorised hawala and hundi arrangements and USDT cryptocurrency for settlement.

These remain investigative allegations and have not been established by a court.

Companies Allegedly Provided Local Payment Infrastructure

The case illustrates the importance of payment infrastructure to gambling operators serving markets where they do not have legal access to conventional domestic acquiring.

According to investigators, the companies were structured to appear as ordinary commercial businesses while their corporate and branchless banking accounts were used to process gambling-related transactions.

Creating apparently legitimate websites could help such companies pass initial onboarding checks when applying for payment accounts.

The FIA is also examining whether employees at financial institutions or other service providers played any role in allowing the accounts to be opened or operated.

No final findings have been announced regarding those third parties.

FIA Investigates Ultimate Beneficiaries

The agency is now attempting to trace the ultimate beneficiaries of the funds and determine how money moved through the wider network.

Investigators recorded approximately PKR118.8 billion in debit turnover alongside the PKR119.93 billion credited to the 11 companies.

Because turnover measures money moving through accounts, the scale of the transactions does not establish the financial benefit received by any individual defendant.

The case has been registered under provisions of Pakistan's Foreign Exchange Regulation Act and Penal Code, including sections covering alleged fraud and document forgery.

For the iGaming industry, the investigation highlights how enforcement against illegal operators increasingly extends beyond gambling websites themselves to the local payment companies, corporate accounts and settlement mechanisms that allow players to deposit and withdraw funds.