The Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) has dismissed media reports alleging that cryptocurrency worth USD 850,000 was stolen from a passenger at Jinnah International Airport (JIAP), describing the claims as “baseless and unfounded.”
In a statement issued Wednesday, the PAA said that immediately after reports appeared on television and social media, it launched an inquiry in coordination with the Airport Security Force (ASF) and local police authorities.
The authority said that a comprehensive review of CCTV footage and official airport records found no evidence of any such incident at JIAP.
According to the PAA, the complainant, identified as Mr. Faizyab, had alleged in a court petition that four uniformed personnel took him into a room, confiscated his mobile phone, and accessed his passwords to steal cryptocurrency worth USD 850,000.
However, investigators found no proof to support these allegations. The statement noted that “the complainant did not report any such occurrence to ASF or PAA at the time,” adding that the CCTV footage jointly reviewed by ASF and PAA officials showed no indication of the supposed event.
The PAA further stated that airline records confirmed the passenger was a “no-show” for his scheduled flight to Peshawar, while a police report submitted to the court also verified that no such incident occurred at the airport.
The authority cautioned that circulation of unverified reports could create unnecessary panic among travelers and the general public, urging media outlets and social media users to ensure proper fact-checking and rely only on verified information from authentic sources.
