Key facts
- A WhatsApp group chat, 'Traders of Greater Europe', was used to facilitate hundreds of millions of euros in illicit cash transfers globally.
- The investigation uncovered payments to organized crime and extremist groups, including Islamic State militants in Syria.
- The hawala system, which bypasses traditional banking and electronic records, was used for these transactions.
- The case began as a terror financing investigation but revealed a vast network of criminal transactions.
- Evidence included thousands of photos of cash and identity cards, suggesting a high volume of processed transactions.
A WhatsApp group chat, identified as 'Traders of Greater Europe', was instrumental in facilitating hundreds of millions of euros in illicit cash transfers across the globe, according to an investigation by European broadcasters.
The 532-member group chat was used to arrange cross-border cash payments for organized crime and extremist activities, including sending funds to Islamic State militants in Syria. The transactions utilized the ancient hawala system, which operates through a network of trusted money brokers and bypasses traditional banking systems and electronic records.
Belgian investigating magistrate Vincent Guerra discovered the chat on the phone of a convicted money launderer, describing the find as akin to 'hitting the jackpot' for understanding the workings of this underground financial system. The case, which began as an investigation into terror financing, revealed a staggering volume of transactions covering the entire planet.
Evidence obtained included thousands of photos of €5 notes with serial numbers and identity cards, suggesting the processed transactions were extensive and professional. The hawala system, while sometimes used for legitimate purposes like remittances, is frequently exploited by criminals to avoid scrutiny from financial institutions like those in the SWIFT system.
Further investigations across Europe uncovered other gangs using hawala for criminal enterprises, including drug trafficking, prostitution, and people smuggling. In Austria, police raided a hawala operation run from a kebab restaurant, linked to human trafficking and violence, where a courier was tortured for losing funds. Europol also dismantled a separate people-smuggling ring financed through hawala that had transported an estimated 100,000 people into Europe.