International Investigation Exposes Hawala's Role in Global Criminal Finance and Money Laundering
An international investigation, conducted by journalists from public service media across Europe under the EBU Investigative Journalism Network, has revealed the extensive use of the hawala system by criminal organizations for money laundering, terror financing, and human trafficking. Hawala, an informal money transfer system based on trust, has been around for centuries and is increasingly exploited by criminals to move billions of euros illicitly. The investigation uncovered highly organized secret hawala networks acting as underground banks, with hubs identified in areas such as the UAE, Turkey, and Southeast Asia. A key finding was the existence of a WhatsApp group called 'The traders of greater Europe,' which included 532 hawala brokers and exchanged over 82,000 messages detailing transactions worth hundreds of millions of euros globally over nine months. Authorities, including Europol, describe hawala as the 'lifeblood of organized crime,' facilitating various illegal activities by providing a parall... 
