Pakistan’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) says it has decided to recommend that the government stops barter trading on the Line of Control (LoC), the military cordon between the Indian and Pakistani controlled parts of the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

The decision was taken due to rising concerns over the central role trade-based financial crime appears to be playing in funding unrest and terror in Kashmir.

Terrorist financing

As part of its probe into the alleged transfer of funds from across the border to finance terror networks, the NIA investigated nearly 300 companies that have engaged in cross-border trade since 2008.

The NIA now says it has found at least five Indian companies engaged in cross-LoC India-Pakistan trade with links to the Kashmiri separatist and designated Islamic terrorist group, Hizbul Mujahideen.

Misinvoicing

The companies were under-invoicing the import of California almonds at trade facilitation centres (TFCs) located at Salamabad and Chakkan-da-Bagh in Jammu and Kashmir.

The money acquired by this under-invoicing, the NIA believes, was used to fund terrorist operations.

The agency is currently in the process of preparing a report on how funds channelled through this trade route are funding terrorist operations.

Categories: Trade Based Financial crimes News