UNMARKED boxes can be used to violate rules on safe charity.—Dawn • Experts warn unregulated funds being channelled through anonymous collection boxes undermine NAP objectives • Official says ‘owners’ will be identified once seminaries registered with home department LAHORE: Despite the Punjab home department’s crackdown on illicit charities and the listing of 89 banned organisations, so-called “nameless donation boxes” continue to proliferate on street corners and electric poles, with their anonymous collectors leaving donors wondering who is really behind the appeals. These “nameless donation boxes”, physically secured with heavy chains and locks, can be spotted at road intersections, markets, shopping malls and banks across Punjab. Experts say billions of rupees in unregulated funds are being siphoned off under the guise of piety. They warn that this system has bypassed the core objectives of the National Action Plan, which was intended to dismantle the financial networks that fuel instability. When contac...
The Wall Street banking giant has been accelerating its foray into crypto, filing to launch Bitcoin, Ether and Solana ETFs in January. Morgan Stanley has applied for a de novo national trust bank charter, allowing the bank to hold digital assets on behalf of its clients — a move in rhythm with its recent crypto expansion. A public filing with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) shows the application for a bank trust charter was received on Feb. 18 under the name “Morgan Stanley Digital Trust, National Association.” More details of the business plan were released on Friday, according to reports from Bloomberg and Forbes, revealing that the Morgan Stanley subsidiary will custody certain digital assets and execute purchases, sales, swaps and transfers to support client investment activities, along with crypto staking. Read more