The woman was getting the procedure done, she received a call stating that her accounts had been frozen.
Hareem Shah was halfway through a lip filler treatment when she got a call that left her with no choice but to leave midway, even if it meant that she will end up with disfigured lips. T
he call was about a money-laundering investigation against her. This meant that her bank accounts were frozen and she had no money to pay for the treatment.
Shah shared her dilemma on TikTok, where she spoke to her followers in Urdu, as translated by India Today.
“I am in the UK right now. Today I went to the doctor to get my lip filler done. The doctor had just inserted a filler on one side of my lip when I received a call and I got to know that Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency has frozen my bank accounts,” Hareem said.
The unfortunate incident took place shortly after a report from Dawn was released, explaining that Pakistan Federal Investigation Agency had launched a probe against her based on one of her TikTok videos. In this video, Shah is seen sitting with two stacks of British pounds. She mentions that she left for the UK from Pakistan carrying a “heavy amount” of cash. She also explains how people “get sad” when converting Pakistani rupee to euros or pounds. “The government had promised to increase the [value] of the currency, increase the [value] of the [Pakistani] passport, but they didn’t do anything. They could only talk,” Shah added.
The TikTok star then went on to say that those intending to travel with significant sums of money should be "careful". "They catch you," she said, adding that there was a difference in her case. "Nobody said anything to me and, you know, they cannot. I came very easily," she said.
Hareem Shah reaches London pic.twitter.com/aehGbDLGJC
— Murtaza Ali Shah (@MurtazaViews) January 12, 2022
After Shah's video went viral on social media, a spokesperson for Sindh Federal Investigation Agency said in a statement that a money-laundering inquiry has been initiated against Shah who traveled from Karachi international airport to Doha, Qatar on January 10. "The FIA has decided to write a letter to the UK's National Crime Agency to take action against Hareem Shah whose real name is Fiza Husain,” the statement said. It added that "the transfer of currency through illegal means falls in the ambit of money laundering."
The FIA statement said the inquiry against Shah was launched under laws pertaining to foreign exchange laws and her "visa, immigration and travel documents have been obtained." "The FIA has initiated an inquiry and sought details from Pakistan Customs and Airport Security Force as well," the FIA spokesperson said.
However, this is not the first time the woman has landed herself in trouble. In October 2019, authorities had launched an inquiry when she had shared videos of herself in the conference room at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Her stunt raised eyebrows regarding security on social media. Later, Shah had said that she had entered the conference room after seeking permission. "They should not have allowed me to make video if it was against rules and regulations," she added.
References:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1669061
Cover Image Source: TikTok | @hareemshahofficialx
