The Federal Investigation Agency has launched a sweeping technology-driven overhaul of its financial crime-fighting capabilities, setting up a dedicated Virtual Currency Cell, a Counter Financing of Terrorism Fusion Centre, and an AI-powered risk assessment system in what marks one of the agency’s most ambitious modernisation drives to date.
The early returns are already showing. FIA sources said the agency traced 38 cases of terror financing and five crypto-linked terror finance cases within a single month of the new operation.
At the heart of the push is the Virtual Currency Cell, built to investigate cryptocurrency transactions, blockchain-based financial crimes, and cold-wallet holdings — a clear signal that the FIA is moving aggressively into the digital asset space as crypto adoption grows in Pakistan.
Alongside it, the CFT Fusion Centre will stitch together data from the National Counter Terrorism Authority, the National Intelligence Fusion and Threat Analysis Centre, and provincial Counter-Terrorism Departments, pulling financial trails from banking records, the go-AML anti-money laundering platform, and the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority’s systems.
An AI and machine learning-based risk-scoring system is also under development, designed to strengthen FATF-compliant audits of financial institutions, virtual asset service providers, and NGOs — a move likely aimed at keeping Pakistan off the global watchdog’s radar after its hard-won exit from the grey list.
On the ground, the agency is scaling up its enforcement footprint. Eleven Counter-Terrorism Wing police stations dedicated to terror financing have been announced, with five already operational and six more expected to come online shortly.
The modernisation extends to the country’s borders. The FIA has rolled out IBMS 2.0, an upgraded border management system integrated with IMPASS, INTERPOL, NADRA, and the Bureau of Emigration databases to tighten passenger screening at airports. A new Risk Analysis Unit will map migration trends and high-risk travel routes, while an AI-driven electronic immigration risk profiling desk — dubbed e-IMMI — will screen passengers before they board international flights.
Crowning the overhaul is the National Command and Control Centre, or NC3, a centralised 24-hour hub designed to fuse intelligence, technology, and operational coordination nationwide. The centre will run 18 specialised desks covering everything from immigration monitoring and anti-human trafficking to dark web investigations, cryptocurrency tracking, cyber patrolling, and INTERPOL coordination. It will also house a round-the-clock public helpline and produce daily strategic situation reports to guide operations across the country.
