After the arrest of Haryana-based YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra on charges of espionage, the spotlight has shifted to a bigger question:
How much does Pakistan’s intelligence agency, the ISI, actually pay its spies?

Malhotra, whose lavish lifestyle raised eyebrows, reportedly transitioned from a private job to a YouTube career after 2020 — and during this period, she came into contact with ISI-linked operatives. But how lucrative is the business of espionage for Pakistan's spies operating in foreign nations like India?

According to intelligence reports, ISI receives a massive budget of around ₹5 billion (Pakistani Rupees) each year from the Pakistani government. This fund is used for:

• Salaries of approximately 4,000 ISI personnel
• Payment to spies and informants abroad
• Covert operations and intelligence procurement

Not all spies are paid the same — ISI classifies payments based on geography and the sensitivity of the information.

• Low-priority regions (like Thailand or Myanmar) receive minimal funding.
• High-priority targets (like India and the United States) command significantly higher pay.

Spies embedded in sensitive areas like India, particularly those with access to defense or government data, are often paid more to extract critical intelligence.

While ISI and the Pakistani government have never officially disclosed payment details, information has surfaced through arrests and interrogations:

• An ISI agent arrested by Punjab Police revealed during a press briefing that:
  • ₹5,000 was paid for minor or low-grade intelligence.
  • ₹10,000 or more was paid for valuable or actionable intelligence.

• An American officer caught spying for ISI claimed he was paid nearly ₹3 crore for leaking sensitive information to Pakistan — suggesting top-tier spies receive significantly higher compensation.

In Jyoti Malhotra’s case, investigators have yet to reveal how much she was paid for allegedly passing on classified data. However, given her sudden shift in lifestyle and travel history, officials suspect she may have received more than the standard ₹5,000–₹10,000 payouts — possibly through foreign accounts or indirect channels.