A Karachi court has discharged television and social media personality Waqar Zaka in an alleged Rs86 million cryptocurrency scam case after allowing National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) to withdraw its prosecution. Judicial Magistrate (East) Gulraiz Memon approved an application filed by NCCIA under Section 494 of the Criminal Procedure Code, seeking permission to discontinue proceedings against Mr. Zaka. According to the agency, the case involved allegations related to cryptocurrency activities, foreign remittances, and electronic fraud. However, following a detailed investigation and submission of the final charge sheet, NCCIA concluded that the available evidence did not support the allegations and requested the court to permit withdrawal from the case.
During the proceedings, NCCIA informed the court that the financial transactions under investigation had been conducted through regular banking channels and that no admissible digital forensic evidence was found to substantiate the charges against Waqar Zaka. State prosecutor Sheeraz Rajpar also presented an approval letter issued by Additional Director Muhammad Tariq Nawaz, arguing that continuing the prosecution would be a futile exercise, consume judicial resources unnecessarily, and offer no reasonable likelihood of securing a conviction. After reviewing the application and hearing the prosecution, the court observed that the grounds presented reflected a lack of incriminating evidence. At the same time, it accepted that the request to withdraw had been made in good faith and in the interest of justice. The court therefore granted consent under Section 494 of the Criminal Procedure Code and discharged Waqar Zaka from the case, noting that formal charges had not yet been framed.
According to the charge sheet previously submitted by NCCIA, the inquiry had been initiated in 2022 under provisions of Pakistan Electronic Crimes Act 2016, Pakistan Penal Code, Anti Money Laundering Act 2020, and Foreign Exchange Regulation Act 1947. The investigation also confirmed that Waqar Zaka had been outside Pakistan during the relevant period. Investigating Officer Arfa Saeed stated in her report that payments made for cryptocurrency related courses were voluntary and that investigators did not find any documentary evidence, contractual agreement, guarantee, or false representation indicating dishonest intent at the beginning of the transactions. She explained that such intent would have been necessary to establish offences including cheating, electronic fraud, or forgery. The digital forensic examination further determined that the online platforms involved provided cryptocurrency information, mining options, and subscription based advisory services. Investigators found no evidence of hacking, data manipulation, electronic forgery, or any technical fraud under Pakistan Electronic Crimes Act 2016.
The investigating officer also informed the court that the prolonged duration of the case, the non availability of the accused, prevailing national circumstances, and the workload faced by investigators and prosecutors made it unlikely that the proceedings would reach a meaningful conclusion within a reasonable timeframe. In addition, she noted that no private complainant or affected individual had come forward claiming that their legal rights had been violated by Waqar Zaka. Based on these findings, she advised that continuing the prosecution would not serve any useful purpose and recommended that NCCIA seek withdrawal from the case. Accepting these submissions, the court allowed the prosecution to withdraw and formally discharged Waqar Zaka, bringing an end to the proceedings in the alleged cryptocurrency scam case due to insufficient evidence and the absence of material supporting further prosecution.
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