ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan was informed on Wednesday that the Federal Investigation Agency had traced 1,023 companies which allegedly sent abroad Rs22.7 billion through 8,103 transactions.

In a broad briefing on investigations against organised crime rackets in the country, the FIA also informed the interior minister that data of flight of capital worth Rs103 billion had been retrieved from the main server of Khanani and Kalia International (KKI), which is a decade-old scandal of money laundering.

The flight of capital took place in2008, when Pakistan`s foreign exchange reserves were plummeting, forcing the country to approach the IMF for an emergency loan.

The meeting was attended among others by the interior secretary, Islamabad Advocate General Mian Rauf, FIA Director General Amlesh Khan, agency`s zonal directors and senior interior ministry officials.

According to an of ficial statement issued by the interior ministry, FIA officials also claimed that data of 56,000 transactions totalling Rs93bn had also been retrieved f rom various storage mediums connected with different investigations. No further details were provided.

FIA officials also briefed the minister about the arrest of three Afghan women who were trying to proceed to the UK on forged documents with the help of a PIA official from Benazir Bhutto International Airport (BBIA)last month.

The main character, PIA official Israr Ahmed, is under arrest. A notorious human trafficker, Altaf, who was also involved in this incident,has been identified by FIA and his CNIC has been blocked and passport put on the Passport Control List.

Further efforts are underway to apprehend all those involved in this incident, including the main culprit Altaf, the of ficials claimed.

The meeting was informed that the FIA in its campaign for the recovery of petroleum levy, launched on the directives of the interior minister, has so far recovered Rs 2.58bn.

Further recoveries are also expected.

Theministerwasfurtherinformed that the FIA was working to identify and apprehend various elements involved in illegal human organs traf ficking and transplantation.

Three doctors, four paramedics, two agents, two heads of the heinous racket, one facilitator, two donors and two foreign recipients have been identified so far after the Human Organ Transplant Act was placed on FIA`s schedule.

The interior minister asked the authorities to continue their work and furnish a detailed report in the next meeting.