Hawala networks increasingly use virtual assets, fintech to conceal illicit wealth: FATF

Dawn reported that the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) says hawala and similar underground networks have grown more professional and now use virtual assets and fintech platforms to hide large sums of illicit money. The Paris-based body drew on input from roughly 45 jurisdictions and bodies, with India and Pakistan among them.

Oman's central bank traced a hawala scheme run through a WhatsApp group that quoted rates below the formal market and promised fee-free remittances to Pakistan via Raast. Six suspected individuals were identified by Omani authorities, whose transaction flows totalled about $72,293 over one year. The report also describes an Indian case in which proceeds from an illegal online gambling platform were moved abroad through hawala channels and returned as purported foreign investment.

The report also warns of growing involvement by lawyers, accountants and casinos, while launderers route funds through bank accounts, prepaid cards and virtual wallets. It identifies a rise in digital hawala, with nearly 70pc of respondents pointing to a shift towards it. The FATF standards call for such services to be licensed or registered, and operating without registration is treated as a crime in most states.