Hareem Shah denies carrying cash to UK after FIA launches money-laundering probe

• Following FIA's decision to investigate the matter, Hareem Shah retracts her statement, says she "only made a video".
• FIA says it will write a letter to UK's National Crime Agency to take action against TikToker.
• FIA says the Shah had herself confessed to laundering money in an Instagram video.
• The Pakistani law prohibits individuals from carrying more than $10,000 in cash outside of the country.

Following the Federal Investigation Agency's (FIA) decision to launch a money-laundering probe against  Hareem Shah after she claimed to carry a hefty sum of money abroad, the TikToker has retracted the statement.

The FIA, on Wednesday, announced that it has decided to initiate an investigation after Shah claimed that she had "successfully carried a hefty amount of money in cash to the United Kingdom" as against the law.

As reported by Geo News, the FIA has decided to write a letter to the United Kingdom's National Crime Agency (NCA) to take action against Shah. 

An FIA spokesperson told Geo News that an investigation regarding Shah's travel to the UK has already been initiated, while her travel and visa documents, a copy of which is available with Geo News, reveal that her real name is Fizza Hussain. 

The agency said that Shah has herself confessed to laundering money to the UK, following which a probe was launched. 

Hareem Shah retracts statement, says she only made a video

Responding to the news, the TikToker, who is often in the news for the wrong reasons, retracted her earlier statement and denied carrying any money to the UK.

"I have not carried any money abroad. I just made a video to say so," the controversial vlogger said. 

On January 10, 2022, Shah had uploaded a video on social media in which she could be seen flaunting stacks of British pounds. 

The social media sensation claimed that she carried the money out of the country "seamlessly," adding that "neither anyone caught me nor they have the [capacity] to catch me."

Citing reasons for carrying a hefty sum of money abroad, Shah said that she did so because the "Pakistani currency and passport had no worth abroad."

She said that while it was not a "big deal" for her to transport the money outside of the country, the move could potentially cause problems for other Pakistanis.

"However, other Pakistani citizens should be careful [when carrying money abroad] because the country's law is only for the poor," she claimed. 

It should be noted that Pakistani laws prohibit individuals from carrying more than $10,000 in cash outside of the country.

— Thumbnail image: screengrab via Instagram