Demonetisation move cripples fake currency network of ISI

Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's move to demonetize Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes has crippled ISI's fake note network.

As per a report, the chatter from Pakistan, intercepted by intelligence agencies, indicates that PM Modi's move against black money in India has demolished a section of the ISI headquarters in Rawalpindi.

At Rawalpindi, many fugitives from militant outfits like Babbar Khalsa, Khalistan Zinadabad Force and Indian Mujahideen reportedly used to hold meetings with ISI officials to infuse fake currency into Indian's financial system.

The motive was – economic destabilisation and financing terror activities in India.

Incidentally, Pakistan's code word for high-quality Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) is ‘RBI' — Reserve Bank of India.

The report said that the ISI used to provide a profit of nearly Rs 300 per fake Rs 1,000 rupee note.

In order to smuggle FICN, the direct route was Munabao-Khakrapar and the Attari border.

On the other hand, the indirect route usually ran through the UAE, Thailand, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Singapore before arriving in Kathmandu and Dhaka.

The media house said that top secret intelligence agencies dossier showed that China was recently included in ISI's smuggling route to exploit commercial courier services.

The secret dossier was quoted as following in report:

“There are a number of intelligence inputs available to indicate the involvement of Pakistani officials in Bangladesh, Nepal and Thailand of having assisted, managed and supplied FICN at times using the diplomatic bag to wholesale operations in those staging countries. The diplomats, who were associated with FICN trade, were also known to be involved in counter-intelligence operations against Indian diplomats in those countries.”

Even though it is said that there were no authentic reports about the total circulation of FICN, inputs from various agencies and organisations suggest that the ISI may have pumped in over Rs 4,500 crore worth of  fake currency into India's financial system.

“Of the 78 foreign seizures, there was the direct involvement of Pakistani nationals in 35 cases with 44 Pakistani nationals being arrested. Of the 28 seizures at foreign airports, 12 were from flights that originated directly from Pakistan while all others from flights transiting a staging-post country but originating in Pakistan,” the media house quoted the government note as saying.