A WhatsApp group with more than 500 members was used to arrange hundreds of millions of euros in cash transfers around the world, with some payments linked to organised crime, people smuggling, drug trafficking and Islamic State (IS) militants, according to a BBC investigation conducted with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).
The 532-member group, called “Traders of Greater Europe,” reportedly contained more than 82,000 messages exchanged between February and December 2022. The messages were used to arrange cash transfers across borders, including payments involving British cities such as London and Birmingham, the BBC reported.
In one case, money sent from Brussels to Syria was linked to IS militants, as per the news outet’s report. Belgian authorities reportedly said the payments were intended to help the wives of IS members escape detention camps in Syria.
What is the ‘Traders of Greater Europe’ group?
According to the BBC, the WhatsApp group was used by money brokers to arrange cash payments for clients around the world.
The group was reportedly discovered by Belgian investigating magistrate Vincent Guerra during a money-laundering investigation. Guerra said the scale of the transactions was “staggering” and that the network extended across “the entire planet”.
The investigation initially focused on suspected terror financing but eventually revealed a much larger financial network.
Members reportedly communicated in Arabic to arrange transactions using the hawala system, an informal method of transferring money through trusted brokers.
How does the hawala system work?
Hawala allows money to be transferred between countries without physically sending cash across borders.
For example, a customer can give money to a hawaladar, or broker, in one country. That broker contacts another hawaladar in the destination country, who gives the equivalent amount to the recipient after deducting a fee.
The two brokers settle their accounts later.
This means there may be no conventional international bank transfer connecting the person who originally paid the money with the person who receives it.
Hawala is also used for legitimate purposes. Migrant workers, for example, may use such systems to send money to relatives in countries where access to formal banking services is limited.
Criminal networks can exploit the system because it can make financial transactions harder for authorities to trace.
Why is hawala attractive to criminals?
Most international bank transfers use systems such as SWIFT, creating records that can be examined by financial institutions and investigators.
Banks also monitor transactions for unusual activity and are required to report certain suspicious transactions.
Hawala can operate outside this conventional banking infrastructure.
The “Traders of Greater Europe” group was reportedly used for transactions above €5,000, with many payments considerably larger.
Belgian investigation uncovered the network
The WhatsApp messages were obtained by the EBU after a 2024 Belgian court case that resulted in the conviction of six money launderers.
Among those convicted were Abu Adam, described as the head of the Brussels network, and his deputy, Abu Ahmed.
Belgian police had found evidence that the network was sending money to IS-linked individuals.
When Abu Adam was arrested, investigators discovered the “Traders of Greater Europe” WhatsApp group on his phone.
Guerra told the BBC that finding the messages was like “hitting the jackpot” because they exposed the workings of a large underground financial system.
Thousands of banknote and ID photographs
Investigators also found, as per the news outlet report, around 6,000 photographs of €5 notes, including their serial numbers, and around 6,000 photographs of identity cards on Abu Adam’s phone.
According to Guerra, such details can be used as unique identifiers in hawala transactions.
The volume of material led him to estimate that Abu Adam had processed at least 12,000 transactions.
“This isn’t just amateur work; it’s professional,” Guerra said, according to the BBC. “They’re bankers with no government oversight.”
Links to organised crime
The BBC and other EBU broadcasters found evidence of hawala networks being used in criminal activity elsewhere in Europe.
A former money launderer identified by the BBC as “Frank” said he had previously been involved in European hawala networks handling transactions worth several hundred million euros.
He recalled seeing several messengers arrive at an office outside Rotterdam within about 90 minutes, carrying at least €1 million, according to his estimate.
Frank said he later discovered that the networks were involved in activities including terror financing, drug trafficking and prostitution.
Hawala and people smuggling
The investigation also found links between hawala and people-smuggling operations.
In Austria, broadcaster ORF, part of the EBU investigative network, reported on a hawala office that police described as one of the biggest in Vienna.
The operation was reportedly run from a kebab restaurant and was allegedly used to arrange payments connected to people smuggling.
Two Syrian brothers who operated the business were charged with human trafficking as well as torturing and raping a courier who had lost €350,000.
They were later convicted and sentenced to 18 years and eight years in prison, respectively.
Europol investigation
A separate people-smuggling network financed through hawala was also dismantled by Austrian police and Europol.
Authorities said the network had transported about 100,000 people into Europe over an 18-month period.
Gerald Tatzgern, who leads human-trafficking investigations at Austria’s Criminal Intelligence Service, told ORF that violence and torture were sometimes used by people smugglers to force victims’ families to send additional money.
