An online investment firm has defrauded more than 100,000 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa residents of Rs. 5.6 billion in one of the biggest recent cases of online fraud.
According to a report by Arab News, in January this year, PSlash (the fraudulent business in question) set up its office at the Deans Trade Center in Peshawar.
By duping unsuspecting real estate and digital and foreign currency investors on the pretext of returning profits of up to 13 percent, the company raised significant funds.
The company’s website however, went offline on 20 November and a message reading “system is hacked” appeared instead.
Victims of the fraud, many of whom have lost their entire life savings, said they have not been able to reach the company’s officials since November 20.
They said that the business had changed its name from Earn Bitcoin to Payslash and eventually to PSlash. They said that the company’s agents and managerial staff always told them that the business was registered with SECP.
According to a lawyer representing one of the victims, the first complaint against PSlash for suspicious activities was lodged at the FIA on 24 August, and the second complaint was lodged at the PTA on 16 September.
The lawyer added that the FIA and PTA refused to take prompt action against PSlash, resulting in 100,000 individuals losing their hard-earned money.
A senior FIA Peshawar official admitted that the scam is worth Rs. 5.6 billion, but refused to clarify the reason behind the failure of the agency to take action, despite a formal complaint being received a few months ago.
Likewise, a PTA spokesperson also admitted that a complaint against the firm had been received by the regulator in September.
