WhatsApp Became a ‘Bank’ for the Criminal World, Hundreds of Millions of Euros Circulated Without a Trace

A WhatsApp group with 532 members was used to coordinate the movement of physical cash across several countries, including urban areas in the United Kingdom.

The investigation carried out by the European Broadcasting Union’s (EBU) investigative network, in which the BBC is a participant, highlighted that this group served for financial operations linked to organized crime, money laundering, human trafficking, and supporting extremism.

The group, dubbed “The Merchants of Great Europe,” accumulated over 82,000 messages exchanged from late February to December 2022.

In the Arabic-language communications, orders appeared for significant monetary amounts and the exact addresses where they needed to be sent. “We need 60,000 pounds in London,” read one of them.

Another message requested 15,150 pounds in Birmingham, while in Liverpool it was announced that 200,000 pounds were ready to be collected.

The operations were carried out through a mechanism called “hawala,” an ancient transfer practice where intermediaries enable the movement of funds without actually moving money across borders. Although hawala serves legitimate purposes, especially for migrant remittances to families in areas with limited banking access, it can be abused by criminal gangs to avoid financial oversight and transaction traceability.

The WhatsApp space was intended for transactions over 5,000 euros, but often payments reached much higher values. Investigators discovered a case where funds sent from Brussels ended up with Islamic State fighters in Syria.

The Belgian authorities found that some of the individuals involved in this network had transferred money with the aim of helping the wives of ISIS militants escape from detention camps in Syria. Initially opened as a terrorism financing case, the investigation expanded further once law enforcement realized the true scope of this financial system.

The WhatsApp group was found on the mobile device of Abu Adam, considered the head of the network in Brussels. Ultimately, six individuals were convicted in Belgium for money laundering. On Abu Adam’s phone, about 6,000 images of 5-euro banknotes were identified, with clearly visible serial numbers, as well as an equal number of identification document photos.

According to Belgian investigating judge Vincent Guerra, this material could have been used to verify hawala transactions. He calculated that the amount of data indicated that Abu Adam could have managed at least 12,000 financial operations.

Guerra described the discovery of the WhatsApp conversation as an “extraordinary blow,” underlining that investigators had penetrated the inner workings of a much larger mechanism. “This has nothing to do with amateur work. It is a professional activity on a scale we never imagined,” he stated.

The investigation also showed that hawala was used by other criminal networks across Europe. A former money launderer, known by the pseudonym “Frank,” claimed to have brokered transactions worth several hundred million euros. He explained that this system served to move proceeds from drug trafficking, prostitution, human smuggling, and terrorism financing.

In Austria, cases have also been documented where hawala was used by networks of migrant traffickers. The Austrian police raided a premises in Vienna, suspected of operating as a center for managing payments for human smuggling.

Two brothers of Syrian origin, who ran this operation, were convicted for human trafficking, torture, and rape, receiving sentences of 18 and 8 years in prison, respectively.

In another operation, Austrian forces and Europol dismantled a smuggling group believed to have brought around 100,000 people into Europe over the course of 18 months. This network also relied on hawala for money flows.

Gerald Tatzgern, head of human trafficking investigations in Austria, said that criminal organizations used torture as a pressure tactic to force the families of migrants to pay additional sums. According to him, recordings of the violence were sent to relatives, who were then demanded thousands of euros to stop the abuse.

Then, the payments were carried out through hawala. A Europol official described this system as “the main money laundering route for organized crime.” However, the report stresses that the use of hawala does not automatically imply involvement in illegal activities, as it is commonly used for legitimate remittances.

In the United Kingdom, for example, hawala transfers are permitted as long as agents register with the relevant authorities.