WhatsApp group chat used to send millions in cash, funding crime and extremism
An investigation has revealed that a 532-member WhatsApp group was used to facilitate millions of euros in illicit cash transfers globally. The network utilized the hawala system to bypass electronic banking, funding organized crime and extremist groups like the Islamic State.
Why it matters
This exposes the vulnerabilities of encrypted messaging platforms in facilitating global money laundering and terror financing.
Image caption, The Islamic State group in Syria was among the recipients of funds
A WhatsApp group chat was used to send hundreds of millions of euros in cash around the world, funding organised crime and extremism with no paper trail, an investigation by European broadcasters has found.
The 532-member group chat, called "Traders of Greater Europe", was used to arrange cash transfers across borders for their clients, including to British cities such as Birmingham and London.
In one case, payments from Brussels went to militants from the Islamic State group (IS) in Syria.
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) investigative journalism network , external , which includes the BBC, also found wider evidence of similar cash transfer systems being used in people smuggling and drug trafficking.
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