A WhatsApp group containing 532 money brokers was used to arrange hundreds of millions of euros in cross-border cash transfers, including transactions linked to terrorism financing and organized crime, according to an investigation by the European Broadcasting Union. The group, called “Traders of Greater Europe,” contained more than 82,000 messages documenting transactions across dozens of countries.
The group operated using hawala, an informal money-transfer system that allows funds to be moved through networks of trusted brokers without physically transferring the same cash across borders. Hawala is also widely used for legitimate remittances, particularly in places where access to conventional banking is limited.
WhatsApp Group Connected Hundreds of Hawala Brokers
The Traders of Greater Europe group was reserved for transactions worth more than €5,000. Messages sent between February and December 2022 included requests to provide cash in locations including London, Birmingham and Liverpool, with other participants agreeing to complete the transactions.
Belgian investigators discovered the group after accessing the phone of a Brussels-based broker known as Abu Adam during an investigation into financing for Islamic State militants.
Investigating magistrate Vincent Guerra said the phone gave authorities access to an extensive international network. Investigators also found thousands of photographs of €5 notes showing serial numbers and thousands of identity documents, which were used as identifying codes for transactions.
Six people were convicted in Belgium in 2024 over offenses including money laundering and participation in a criminal organization. Two were also convicted of terrorism financing, according to the EBU investigation.
There is no indication that every member of the WhatsApp group handled criminal funds.
Hawala Networks Also Used by Smuggling Groups
The EBU investigation found evidence of similar hawala networks being used for drug trafficking and migrant smuggling elsewhere in Europe.
In Austria, investigators uncovered a hawala operation run from a restaurant in Vienna that authorities said was involved in payments connected to people smuggling. Two Syrian brothers who operated the network were later convicted of offenses including human trafficking and violent crimes.
Europol has documented several other migrant-smuggling networks that relied on hawala to collect payments and distribute criminal proceeds. In one investigation, authorities found that smugglers used hawala offices across multiple countries to manage payments while transporting migrants toward Western Europe.
Authorities Say Networks Operate Like Underground Banks
Hawala transactions generally involve one broker accepting money from a customer and another broker paying the equivalent amount to a recipient elsewhere. The brokers settle their balances separately, allowing individual transactions to take place without conventional international bank transfers.
The system can make illicit transactions difficult to trace when operated outside regulated financial networks.
A former money launderer interviewed by the EBU said he had participated in hawala transactions worth hundreds of millions of euros. Investigators involved in the reporting described large criminal networks as operating in a manner similar to banks, but without the same regulatory oversight.
Featured image credits: Wikimedia Commons
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