An investigation by the European Broadcasting Union’s investigative journalism network, which includes the BBC, has documented how a WhatsApp group chat called “Traders of Greater Europe” was used to facilitate vast sums of cash transfers internationally. The 532-member group, active between late February and December 2022, contained over 82,000 messages and was discovered following a Belgian court case that convicted six money launderers. The group coordinated cash movements using the hawala system, an informal money transfer network that operates without electronic records or physical transport of currency across borders.
The investigation traced the group’s origins to arrests in Brussels, where authorities discovered the chat on the phone of Abu Adam, the head of the network. Belgian police found evidence suggesting Adam had processed at least 12,000 transactions, based on thousands of photographs of euro notes and identity documents discovered on his phone. The group reserved transactions for amounts exceeding €5,000, with payments frequently much larger. Members communicated in Arabic to arrange transfers through trusted brokers known as hawaladars, who settle accounts between themselves at later dates. While hawala serves legitimate purposes for immigrant workers sending money home, it also allows criminals to circumvent traditional banking systems and their fraud detection mechanisms.
The investigation revealed broader criminal networks across Europe using similar systems. One former money launderer indicated involvement in transactions totaling several hundred million euros, describing observations of major cash movements through hawala offices. Austrian police dismantled operations connected to people smuggling, including a network that transported approximately 100,000 individuals into Europe over an 18-month period. Cases documented torture used against couriers and smuggling victims, with payments demanded through hawala channels. Law enforcement officials characterised the hawala system as the primary money-laundering mechanism for organised crime in Europe.
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